Interlude4 Love Stories
by Liz Inverse
Summary: A stretch of peace follows the War in the lands of Aden and Elmore, but for those members of the Haibane clan, sometimes a happy peace just won't stay put. Settling down and starting families doesn't always mean the excitement ends...
1. Authors Note and Prelude

Good day, dear readers.

I just wanted to provide a minor explanation for this next installment in my Lineage 2 fanfiction.

This story was written sometime toward the end of the Interlude expansion (thus its name), so it's more of a collection of short stories leading up to my more current story line. Several other short tales exploded off of this one as well, giving various back-histories of some characters while setting the stage for others. Compared to the story I'd finished previously, this isn't my best work, as I was writing blindly at first.

I had originally intended to end my Lineage 2 stories with the final installment of the Gods Game, but my friends and loved ones repeatedly insisted for me to continue the stories of the Haibane clan. Finding the Gods Game storyline to be an excellent exercise that helped evolve my writing immensely, I decided to start throwing down ideas and seeing where it would take me. Quite honestly, it opened up a Pandora's box that even now I have trouble closing. It also led me into more risque writing styles; that is, I began to wet my feet in writing the more intimate moments of my characters in depth.

This story in particular was the start of such scenes. However- does not (last I was aware of) allow fiction of the adult nature to grace it's pages. (although I see a few stories dancing on the line, admittedly) So unfortunately, the adult scenes will either be edited out, or toned down to be a little less graphic.

If there's no way to really edit the scenes (because many of these scenes are plot devices and were written with the intention of moving the story along, not just because I wanted to have my characters jump in the sack) I may upload the adult content to another site, and have a link directing there, if that's allowed.

In any case, thank you very much, dear readers, for sticking with me. I do hope my stories have met you favorably, and I hope that you'll continue the adventure across Aden and Elmore with the members of the Haibane clan.

_Mune's Recap on Life and the prelude to the new disaster._

"Hurry up." Terebel urged, speeding ahead. Mune glared as he nearly ran down the path through the Elven Forest, annoyed that he was in such a hurry.

"Slow down! She's not going anywhere you hormonal freak!" she snapped as his body swiftly became a speck in the distance. He slid to a stop and smoothly turned around to give her an annoyed look. Folding his arms across his chest, he tapped his foot as she slowly caught up to him.

"Listen Mune, just because you rejected your only chance at ever getting laid, doesn't mean the rest of us have to live like you." he stated in irritation. Mune stumbled to a halt as he spoke, her eyes wide in horror. "We're in the damn Elven Forest for gods sakes. It's highly unlikely that I'm going to get jumped here so if you don't mind, I'm going to go on ahead…" Without a word he turned quickly and dashed ahead of her, ignoring the choked noises coming from her open mouth.

"I HATE YOU TEREBEL BAHS!" Mune snarled into the air. She growled loudly in exasperation as he disappeared over the horizon, and looked around for something to kick to help vent her agitation. Finding no rocks suitable for her anger, Mune marched over to one of the trees lining the path and began kicking the trunk as hard as she could. The thought of how Cesa would react at her abusing the tree helped sate some of her anger. She gritted her teeth in frustration as she tried to think of a way to get out of her pact with Terebel, but coming up with nothing.

Mune was tied to Terebel thanks to her grandfather Ballard's final wish. Ballard had been the Seal of Gnosis while he lived, one of the guardians keeping Shilen within her Abyss. Upon his death, he passed the Seal on to Terebel, and had made Mune his protector. It wasn't as if Terebel was weak or needed protecting, he was immortal after that final fight with Frintezza almost five years prior after all, but tradition called for two people to guard the Seal. Mune's duties included acting as his bodyguard (although he guarded her more than she guarded him), diverting any magical assassination attempts (although he seemed impervious to magic now…), and performing the ceremony that would strengthen the runic Seal on his back (this was in all actuality the only thing she could do).

Mune hadn't changed much in the five years since the war against Elmore; she still wore the gold Zubei armor that Evzen had bought her in Rune, her hair was still platinum blonde and short (although it was long enough to touch her shoulders now at least), and her eyes were still sky blue. She was still short and stocky in comparison to the other Light Elves, and she still harbored an intense dislike of Dark Elves. It had faded much since she'd traveled with Evzen however, even though she'd never openly admit it.

Evzen Greyhelm, the only Dark Elf to ever weasel his way into her heart. It angered her to think of him now, even though it had been she whom had rejected him five years prior. From what she heard last, he was still the Lord of Schuttgart, and all was well with him. Ryonai had recently purchased a Clan Hall in Schuttgart for the Academy of Haibane, thus tying Heine with the coldest city on the continent.

Mune sighed heavily and ceased her abuse of the tree to glare down the path towards the Village. So many things had already happened in the five years since the war, it was like a completely different life. People had changed, some had disappeared. Babies had been born, and relationships had ended. For instance, Terebel and Narlafayn had such a rocky time before their eventual wedding, Mune had been almost certain that they wouldn't make it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Part 1-**

_Mune recalls Terebel and Narlafayn's issues._

Mune had never seen a couple more aroused by the other than Terebel and Narlafayn. After he returned, they were rarely seen outside of the bedroom, and if they were outside of the bedroom they were either in a daze or relocating somewhere in the forest to have a repeat performance of whatever they were doing in the bedroom. Such behavior was expected from Terebel, he was half Dark Elf after all, and renowned years prior to Narlafayn for having a new girlfriend every hour or two, but seeing the human-brained Narlafayn behaving the same as well shocked Mune at first. She'd finally grown used to seeing Narlafayn's nymphomaniac side, but it'd taken all of the five years for it to happen. She knew very well that Terebel's rush to get back to the Village was to try and set a new record of getting under Narlafayn's dress.

Not long after returning to humanity, Terebel had assumed his role of the Seal of Gnosis, and began the traditional pilgrimages to the different cities so that those involved with the Seals could make certain the Seal of Gnosis was strong, and the Seal Keeper on the side of Dawn. It was the very same pilgrimages that Ballard had taken himself while living, and was hard on Mune at first.

During one such trip a few months after falling into their roles, Terebel's ex-girlfriend Kartia, a celebrant from the Dark Elven Village, decided she wanted to sabotage Terebel and Narlafayn's relationship out of jealousy. She teamed up with a one-night stand of Narlafayn's, an Abyss Walker who went by the name Deathswalker. The two of them concocted an elaborate story, and approached the pair separately to put it into motion. Even though Mune wanted nothing to do with it, she found herself at the center of their argument when everything came to a head. Mune wasn't sure what Kartia and Deathswalker had done, but they'd successfully turned the closest couple she knew into the most mistrusting. Terebel left soon after their argument, and dragged Mune up to Rune, while Narlafayn remained in the Village, alone.

"Get up; I'm tired of seeing you mope." Vuylay's voice came through the blanket Narlafayn had pulled over her head. Narlafayn threw the covers away from her face in a hurry, her eyes large with surprise as she found her violet-haired, green-eyed friend staring down at her. Vuylay still wore her hair in the banged ponytail fashion, but now she wore a rich, wide-skirted, pale orange dress with a tight, embroidered bodice befitting a noblewoman. Lace sprung elegantly from the top of the bodice to cover her breasts, which, to Narlafayn's shock, were no longer the humongous watermelons that they'd been while the pair traveled together. After the lace, the only thing covering Vuylay's chest was the sleeves, which sprung directly from the bodice to cover her arms. In her arms she held one of her twins, who cooed and reached for the wisps of her ponytail that hung over her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Narlafayn exclaimed, her jaw dropping. Vuylay pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"Glarawen contacted me and told me that you'd had an argument with Terebel, and I knew in an instant you were going to curl up in bed and pout. I came to put a stop to that idiocy and get you back on track with the wayward lover boy once and for all." She stated in a no-nonsense tone, walking to the window and opening the shutters on it to let the light in. Her layered petticoat rustled beneath her dress as she walked, and Narlafayn wondered in the back of her head how she'd gotten used to wearing so many layers around her legs. Sunlight flared in as soon as the shutters were thrown open, and Narlafayn covered her face to hide from the glare. She lowered her hand a moment later to stare at her bedspread helplessly.

"It won't do any good. He swears he saw me kissing Deathswalker outside of the house." Narlafayn said, her shoulders drooping. Vuylay paused mid-step as she traveled back across Narlafayn's room.

"_Were_ you kissing him?" Vuylay asked, her eyebrows rising in interest. Narlafayn looked at her in horror, not bothering to disguise the disgust in her eyes. "I take that as a no." she said with a satisfied smirk. "If that's all that's to it, we'll just find Terebel, twist his little boy parts and make him realize that he made a mistake, simple," she finished with a smirk. This faded as Narlafayn's only reply was to sigh heavily and let her shoulders droop even further. Echoing the sigh, Vuylay shifted Hara, her baby girl, and sat down on the edge of Narlafayn's bed. "There's more to the story, isn't there?" Vuylay stated more than asked. Narlafayn swallowed and gave Vuylay a feeble smile.

"The thing is…I saw him kissing that girl we caught him with before the war…that one Celebrant from the Dark Elven Village…what was her name?" Narlafayn frowned as she tried to recall the woman's name, and realized she'd never really caught it before. She'd left Amari's house in such a hurry after finding Terebel in bed with her. Narlafayn jumped as Vuylay let out a strange high-pitched noise that made Hara fuss. She flew to her feet in a hurry, turning the baby's unhappy whimper into a giggle of enjoyment.

"If Kartia had something to do with it, then I know that it was a misunderstanding. Get dressed NOW, Narla, we're going to put our collective boots through both of that bitches eyes." Vuylay snarled, stomping over to Narlafayn's dresser and opening a drawer to toss clothes at her. "I can't believe you fell for one of her tricks…I just can't…" she grumbled, tapping her foot impatiently as Narlafayn slowly dragged herself from the bed to dress. "Hurry up already! The longer we wait, the farther north he's going to get!"

Narlafayn quickly dressed as Vuylay grumbled to herself, her fingers slipping as she tried to button the tunic of her dress. It consisted of a form-fitting, short sleeved, light blue tunic that buttoned down to her waist, a long dark blue skirt extending from the hem to her ankles. Vuylay snatched her wrist impatiently and toted her out of her room before she'd finished buttoning the last button.

"Alright Cesa, Glara, will you watch Hara for me? I've got some people to kill." Vuylay announced as she pulled Narlafayn through the living room. Narlafayn blinked as she realized both Cesa and Glarawen were seated on the couch, cooing over Vuylay's son, Ren. Celleriant and Arvalo sat nearby, and looked up at them with pleading expressions.

"Oh certainly! I just love babies!" Cesa exclaimed, jumping up to take Hara from Vuylay. Glarawen giggled her agreement, and snuggled Ren close. It almost seemed to Narlafayn that Ren was enjoying himself more than a baby should with how he giggled and cooed. _He's definitely his father's son…._she thought, shutting her eyes into a thin line.

Narlafayn, Terebel and Mune had come to take up residence in the house that had belonged to Lavinia. She and Oonugh had settled in Hunter's Village, so instead of letting the house fall into ruin, or going through the hassle of selling it to strangers, she'd simply passed on the title for it to Terebel. It saddened Narlafayn that Lavinia would most likely never again set foot inside of the Elven Village, but she was satisfied in Hunter's Village. Last she'd heard, Lavinia and Oonugh had been married by the chief hunter there, and they'd taken on a new last name of Deepstrom, since Lavinia couldn't take his Orcish clan name. She ran a library in the Village now, and was happily content and expecting her very first baby.

"Can I come with?" Waverly asked eagerly, jumping up from where he sat on the floor. Iris attempted to do the same, but she wasn't as swift on her feet as he was, and ended up falling over again.

"No." Vuylay responded, narrowing her eyes at the five year old. He looked down in an instant and stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

"Oh honey, let's have another!" Glarawen suddenly exclaimed, snuggling Ren close and looking at Arvalo with shining eyes. Narlafayn clenched her jaw shut as Arvalo paled, and swallowed her laugh.

"Alright, let's go. I have rage that needs an outlet." Vuylay growled, grabbing Narlafayn by her wrist and dragging her out of the door. Narlafayn began to protest that neither of them was packed properly for the two-week journey across the forest to the plateau that would take them to the Dark Forest, but her words were silenced as Vuylay produced a fat coin pouch at the Gatekeeper. It was another thing that saddened Narlafayn; everyone seemed to have money nowadays, and traveled by Gatekeeper more than on foot. She was still poor however, and had to still travel the old-fashioned way.

Within moments they blinked to Gludio, where Vuylay purchased a connecting gate to the Dark Elven Village. Narlafayn winced as the blinding darkness of the Dark Elven Village momentarily robbed her of sight, and rubbed her eyes vigorously. When her eyes adjusted, she glanced around curiously. She hadn't been to the Dark Elven Village since the day she found Terebel with Kartia, and much had changed.

The buildings were still the same as they'd always been, but the Village seemed emptier somehow. Before there'd been a constant buzz of conversation and crowds of people looking for a warm body for the night, but now they were scattered, and only quiet whispering met her ears.

"What happened here?" Narlafayn asked in wonder, shocked as a Dark Elf merely glanced at her and then away, indifferent to her presence. Had it been years before, she would've been greeted with a sneer or with a flirtatious wink.

"Harne wrote and said people are moving away from the Village now. Partially because that Primeval Island just off the coast, but mostly because there's no children anymore." Vuylay said in a distracted tone, pulling fancy, lace-edged wrist gloves from her bodice and putting them on. Narlafayn gave her friend a wan smile as she realized Vuylay was trying to look her absolute best before stepping away from the Village Gatekeeper. She'd received scorn every day of her life in the Village, and now she wanted to be sure that she showed off that she was nobility now.

"It's sad I know, but I always knew our race was heading to extinction with the practices they held. I could easily send Hara or Ren here to study, but since they treated me as scum, we're investing our money in our own academy." She said bitterly, folding her arms across her chest and blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Alright, let's go. Let's stop in and speak to Harne, she might know what's going on." She decided, leading the way towards the long staircase that led to the Elder's Temple.

As they passed a darkened home near the staircase, a peal of sinister laughter followed by a dark male voice murmuring something in response met Narlafayn's ears. She felt her skin crawl at the sound of the man's voice, and she halted just past the door. Her heart began to thud in anxiety, and she looked at Vuylay with large eyes.

"What is it?" Vuylay asked, frowning at her expression. Narlafayn turned without responding, and crept closer to the open window that she heard the voices emanating from. Curious, Vuylay tilted her head and followed, taking on a similar crouching pose as Narlafayn. Her face darkened as a woman's voice responded to the man's, and she growled under her breath. "Kartia." She grumbled bitterly.

"I didn't make a joke." Deathswalker's voice came next. It was angry, and an exasperated noise followed as Kartia laughed again.

"Sure you did, claiming you came up with that idea yourself. That's the funniest thing I've heard all day." Kartia responded. Her voice shifted from one side of the window to the other as she walked across the room she and Deathswalker were talking in. "Besides, shouldn't you be out seducing that bitch ex-girlfriend of his? Isn't that what you signed up for?" Kartia sneered. Narlafayn, standing above Vuylay whom had crouched to the ground, stiffened at her words and sucked in an audible breath in anger. Vuylay glared up at her and held a finger to her lips to silence her.

"In due time. I have to make sure the grief has settled nicely in her heart before making a move. It's no fun otherwise." Deathswalker responded nonchalantly.

"Narla!" Vuylay hissed as Narlafayn spun on her heel and marched towards the door of the house. Vuylay tried to follow after her in a hurry, but her layers of dress slipped under the toe of her shoe, and she stumbled ungracefully. "Narla, get back here!" Vuylay whispered loudly. She hid her face in her hand as she heard the front door of the house slam open, and noises of surprise come through the window.

"It was YOU." Narlafayn bellowed, pointing at the pair who stood before her, bewildered. Kartia saved face first, and tossed her hair over her shoulder with a pompous air.

"What of it? He was obviously dissatisfied with you, with how easily he left you." She sniffed, sticking her nose in the air. Vuylay emerged in the doorway to the house, panting and holding her shoes in her hand, just as Narlafayn lifted one arm and punched Kartia as hard as she could in the eye. Her jaw dropped open in shock as Kartia stumbled backwards and slammed into the wall, her arms flailing as she tried to catch herself.

"I'm not even acknowledging you." Narlafayn spat, glaring at Deathswalker briefly before turning on heel and marching out of the house. Vuylay watched her leave with her mouth still agape before trying to put her shoes back on and hurry after her.

"Narla, wait!" she called, hopping on one foot as she shoved the other into a heeled shoe. She glanced into the house one last time to find Deathswalker staring at Kartia without compassion, and Kartia still on the floor in a daze. A bruise had begun to shine around her eye, and Vuylay snorted in laughter. Finally getting both feet in her shoes again, Vuylay held up her skirt and hurried after Narlafayn.

"Lend me some money to get back to the Elven Village, would you?" Narlafayn demanded, holding out her hand towards Vuylay without looking at her. Surprised by her tone of voice, Vuylay stared at her speechlessly as she fished through her money pouch for the fee that would return her to the Elven Village. Vuylay froze just as she withdrew some coins, and glared.

"You're not going back to pout, are you?" she asked in a flat tone. Narlafayn sighed impatiently and returned the glare.

"Don't be stupid, I'm going to pack up and go get the idiot." She retorted. A wide grin slowly spread on Vuylay's face, and she placed the coins in her hand with a satisfied smirk.

"Make sure you have lots of make-up sex!" Vuylay called as Narlafayn faded after paying the Gatekeeper.

"VUYLAY!" she exclaimed in embarrassment before completely disappearing.

From what Mune was told after the incident was over, Narlafayn dressed in her Nightmare armor and left for the northern lands as fast as she could. Vuylay lent her extra money to travel by Gatekeeper, so she wouldn't fall much farther behind. She made a pit stop in Giran to resupply herself…a stop that would cost her.

Deathswalker, humiliated by her display in the Dark Elven Village, caught up with her in Giran, and knocked her unconscious as she walked between houses on her way to the city square. He bought a Gate port to the mouth of Anthras' Lair, where he paid a Dwarven trader to take her deep within the cave and leave her. The merchant obliged, and Narlafayn awoke some odd hours later in a crevice off of a room crawling with Anthras' demonic children. The day Giran was attacked by these very same children was still fresh in her memories, and Narlafayn could only curl up and sob in fright. She couldn't take the monsters alone…not without Terebel.

Farther north, Terebel and Mune were busy with rituals and ceremonies in Rune and oblivious to Narlafayn's plight. Mune herself had been bored in Terebel's wake, watching the officials prance and parade in front of him as if he were the new King. It made her uncomfortable to be back in Rune after all that had happened to her there, but the city had covered up the pagan incident and nothing of it remained. Not even a bloodstain graced the carpet of the library where the Pagans had committed their ritualistic suicide. That being said though, Mune would probably have to admit that the knowledge that rats ran unseen through the city made her more uncomfortable than the covered-up murder-suicide. Not to mention, she was still banned from the church, especially the level where the young Mother Tree stood.

Mune decided that day, that she was irritated with all of the things Terebel was letting the church do with him. He was purposefully letting them keep him busy so he wouldn't have to return to the Elven Village and face Narlafayn after such a harsh argument. Mune was tired of his immaturity, so that day when he came up to her to tell her of the next ceremony he was to take part in, she said; "You're an egotistical dolt, lets go home."

Terebel blinked at her in surprise, taken back by her comment. He opened his mouth and shut it after making a small noise, unable to think of anything to say in response to her. Finally, words came to him, "What in the world are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you're purposefully ignoring Narlafayn. Even I can see you guys had a misunderstanding somewhere regardless of what you might've seen, go back and talk to her already." Mune stated in irritation. Terebel frowned and turned away to walk into of the upper level of the church. Mune sighed in exasperation and followed him. "I'm serious, you're the only guy she's got the hots for, and I thought you understood that…"

"If it had been anyone but that Deathswalker, I wouldn't have reacted this way." He snapped, spinning around unexpectedly and causing her to nearly crash into him. "She says she hates him, but you haven't seen what I've seen, Mune. She's weak to him." He sighed and put a hand over his eyes, as if trying to block a memory from resurfacing. "This one time in Giran, right before Ryonai's siege, I caught him pressing her into a corner. She wasn't fighting him; she was letting him touch her as he pleased…"

"As much as it repulses me to condone any actions with a Dark Elf, I have to say, so?" Mune interrupted, folding her arms across her chest. "If I remember correctly, the grapevine says you slept with an ex-girlfriend not long before that so why are you so uptight? You can play but she can't?" Terebel lowered his hand to stare at her in horror, as if she'd spewed garbage from her lips.

"You…have no idea…what I was going through then…" he said in a controlled voice, rage causing it to tremble. Mune scoffed and rolled her eyes in response.

"Whatever, I'm going home, with or without you." She grumbled, turning away. She slid to a halt before taking a full step as she found a person wearing a hooded traveler's cloak, standing behind her.

"Terebel!" Kartia exclaimed, pushing the hood of the cloak back and throwing herself at him. Mune blinked as a definite black eye circling the woman's right eye caught her attention. She had glamored most of the bruise away, but there was still enough color left for Mune to identify it. She raised an eyebrow at it curiously before melting into a glare at the sight of her pressed against Terebel.

"Kartia?" he exclaimed, frozen in shock as she draped herself over him. "What are you doing in Rune?" he asked, looking down at her with large eyes. She pulled away from him enough to look into his face with tear-filled eyes.

"Oh you poor dear!" she sobbed, falling onto him again and hugging him tightly. "I'd heard what that evil girl did to you…how could she break your heart? You poor thing! When I heard about it, I just _had_ to come find you and comfort your poor heart!" she sniffled daintily, and Terebel looked up at Mune in horror. Mune blinked and raised her eyebrows, but didn't move to help detach the badly acting Celebrant.

"Um…thanks for your concern...Kartia…" Terebel began, stiffly placing his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away with effort. "….but I'm really not in any need of comfort…especially not from you…"

Kartia drew away from him with a look of theatrical hurt, and put a hand over her mouth to stifle an overly-dramatic gasp. With an equally dramatic sob, she threw herself to the cobbled stone street, and hid her face from view.

"Oh woe the day that Terebel refused my affections!" she said with all of the eloquence of a diva. Terebel gave Mune a sheepish look as city folk cast them disapproving glances, and she scoffed. "Oh how dreadful, the look of hate in his eyes, when I mean nothing but the best for him!" she cried louder. People rushed past them at the sound of her voice, the looks on their faces those of people afraid they were about to witness a murder.

"Ok ok, I suppose I could use some…sympathy…" Terebel finally said, having enough of hearing her fake cry increase in volume. Kartia's voice silenced, and she looked up at Terebel with large eyes and a pretty pout on her lips.

"Do you mean that? Will you accept my affection?" she asked, making sure her bottom lip stayed thrust out while she spoke. Terebel quickly glanced at Mune, who was frozen in a look of disbelief. A sly smile crossed his face, and he leaned down to offer his hand to Kartia.

"Of course…and to prove that I care, I shall leave you to work with my niece Mune until I'm done with my duties here. Afterwords we shall return to the Village, and you may shower all the affection you wish upon a body." He said good-naturedly, turning his sly smile into a warm one for her. Kartia's pout instantly turned into a seductive smile, and she took his hand.

"Terebel!" Mune exclaimed, her expression quickly turning into one of horror. As soon as Kartia was on her feet, Terebel turned to Mune and gave her the biggest grin she'd ever seen on his face.

"Well, have fun girls. Duty calls!" he said, bowing to them and then turning away. He hurried into the church as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving Mune behind choking in astonishment. She clenched her fists and jaw after he disappeared into the darkness beyond the church gates, knowing very well that he'd left her with Kartia because he didn't feel up to dealing with her, and escaped to the only place in Rune where she couldn't follow. She slowly turned her head to look at Kartia, barely catching the tail end of the Celebrant's scowl as she put on a sickly sweet, false smile.

"So…what shall we do now, niece of Terebel?" she asked. It was obvious she intended her voice to sound sincere, but she spoke through her teeth, ruining the effect. Mune instantly glared at the woman, before an idea crossed her mind.

"Oh…we're going to have lots of fun…" she said, her own false smile mirroring Kartia's. Both women began to laugh, nervous titters at first, that quickly escalated into forced hysterical bellows as each tried to out-laugh the other.

She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep, or how she even relaxed enough to do so, but Narlafayn stirred from the dark blanket of slumber an indiscernible amount of time after she first found herself in the lair. She blinked sleep from her eyes, and realized she was covered with a heavy blanket.

Wincing as her muscles had gone stiff from being in one cramped position for so long inside of the crevice she'd taken refuge in, Narlafayn emerged and stretched. She paused mid-stretch with her arms above her head, to find a silver-haired Dark Elf looking up at her without emotion. Yelping in surprise, she jerked back, the blanket falling from her shoulders with the movement.

"Who are you?" she demanded, sizing him up. He wore black Tallum armor like Terebel, and judging by the two blades sitting on the dusty cave floor next to him, she assumed he was a Bladedancer as well. His hair was short and spiky, but a single, tiny braid dangled to the corner of his chiseled jaw in front of his left ear, and appeared to be intertwined with violet hair. His eyes were thin, and colored like crystalline steel. Lines of stress, not age, creased his face, giving him a weary appearance, but not diminishing the mysterious attractiveness all Dark Elves held.

"Perhaps we should start again…it is more polite to show gratitude, is it not?" he responded without blinking, staring straight into her eyes. Narlafayn shifted under his gaze and glanced away, suddenly feeling very small.

"Thanks?" she mumbled, ducking into her armor slightly and shuffling her feet. Realizing that she'd been instantly cowed by this stranger in front of her, she quickly stood straight again and frowned at him. "That's not a very nice thing to say, even if I did forget etiquette for a moment. I have a good excuse you know…" she stated hotly, putting her hands on her hips. The Bladedancer merely shrugged, and turned back to watching the entryway of the cavern room her crevice had been in.

"You thanked me, the debt has been paid." He said without emotion, resting his hand on his bent knee. Narlafayn stared at him, aghast that he'd just dismissed her that quickly. As she opened her mouth to retort, the Dark Elf stood and sheathed his blades. "So, shall we be going? Unless you live here of course…I however, would like to find someplace a bit more friendly in décor." He said, interrupting her before she had a chance to speak. She shut her mouth quickly, and folded her arms across her chest.

"I don't even know your name, how can I trust you." she mumbled, glancing away from him. His eyes flickered over to her briefly, as if sizing her up, then away.

"I'm called Cruisnik." He stated simply. "As for trust…I did keep watch over you while you decided to catch a catnap, but if you need further proof of peaceful intention, I'm afraid I cannot provide it for you." He said, walking away from her. "Come if you wish, but I for one am exhausted with being this close to Shilen's eldest son." He moved into the adjoining tunnel ahead of them, leaving Narlafayn behind, staring at him dumbfounded.

"Don't you want to know what my name is before you leave me behind?" she called, rushing after him as he disappeared into the darkness. She stumbled to a halt as she found him waiting patiently in the next cavern, filtered light coming in through cracks in the cavern ceiling, casting the room in a strange earthen green. He stood underneath one such beam of light, the sun shadowing his face in a mysterious way that made Narlafayn's heart involuntarily skip a beat. She looked away from him in a hurry, and rubbed her eyes with one hand. _Curse my attraction to the Dark side…_she thought, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Your name is Narlafayn. Forgive me for not remembering your last name; it's a strange one that I do recall begins with an E." Cruisnik stated as if reciting from a paper. Narlafayn turned back to him, her eyes large. He raised an eyebrow at her reaction, and then shook his head. "I've been in Haibane for over a year now, I was with you guys on the battlefield against Elmore, you don't remember?" he questioned, tilting his head towards his chest slightly as he stared at her. Narlafayn glanced to her right in thought, focusing on a crack in the cavern wall as she tried to recall the Bladedancer in front of her. There had been quite a few in Ryonai's unit, and even more Dark Elves with silver hair. Cruisnik sighed heavily and turned away to continue through the caverns.

"I'm…sorry?" she offered, hurrying after him. Cruisnik glanced at her and shrugged, his face giving away no emotion.

"It's no problem…you did seem rather distracted with your own issues….although it was pretty amazing to see you take out half of Vlad's unit outside of the Devastated Castle on your trek to make out with your boyfriend. What kind of magic was that? I've never seen any that disintegrates people before." He asked curiously, as if witnessing it hadn't bothered him in the slightest. Narlafayn's face instantly turned red, and she tried to duck down in her armor. She had the faintest of memories of those around her during the incident he spoke of, but she recalled the clearest her insistent desire for Terebel, which was causing her embarrassment now.

"So…you know Vlad personally?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Cruisnik glanced at her again, but said nothing about her dodging his question.

"Not personally. He was a decent leader, I'd say." He said. He paused abruptly, and held a hand out to halt her. He tilted his head as he listened to the cavern around him. Narrowing his eyes, he stood straight, and put his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his left hip. "What ever happened to him? Did he get his girlfriend to a doctor and is living happily with her somewhere? I didn't see him after we caught up with you guys in Aden." Narlafayn frowned slightly as she watched him listening to the sounds in the cave despite his conversation. _He must've been one of those that were denied entry into Frintezza's room…_she surmised.

"Um…Emixia…passed away…during that last battle versus Elmore." Narlafayn said in a low voice. Cruisnik lowered his head once in understanding, a motion of respect to the dead.

"I worked with her on the field a few times…she was a great fighter. A bit batty, but she really put her heart into everything Vlad asked her to do." He stated respectfully. Without warning, he drew both of his swords and charged ahead of them.

There was a hiss, and the sound of metal being pulled from a sheath. Narlafayn raced after him, her own hand seeking out her heavy Tallum blade (which had been thankfully left to her) sheathed at her side, but was stopped abruptly again as Cruisnik's blades found the body of a skinny Lizardman first. It was called a Plando, and was one of the personal scouts of Antharas. He swung his blades inward first, and then outward, cleaving the beastman in two. Never accustomed to seeing gore even after all she'd been through; Narlafayn winced and looked away as innards spilled across the floor of the dungeon.

When she was brave enough to open her eyes again, he had shaken the blood from his swords and was sheathing them once more. He turned to look at her and did a courteous half-bow, as an escort does to the nobility they're contracted to protect. "Shall we continue?" he asked, holding his arm out. Feeling as if he were mocking her, Narlafayn stuck her nose in the air and marched past him indignantly. She stopped abruptly (and wondered if she'd ever travel more than a few feet) as a medium-sized group came to a halt in the same manner in front of her.

"Look, a Pytan! Get her!" an orange-haired Dwarf with her hair styled in a similar manner as Midget and Plenty exclaimed, pointing her large axe at her. Narlafayn held her hands up and took a step away with large eyes as another orange-haired dwarf, this one with her hair in looped braids, came running out of the group with the first.

"I'm not a Pytan!" Narlafayn exclaimed, taking another step back in an attempt to flee from the stampeding Dwarves. Cruisnik pulled her out of the line of fire, causing her to stumble ungracefully, and smoothly smacked both Dwarves at the center of their foreheads with the butts of his swords. They both cried out in pained surprise, and fell flat on their backs in an exaggerated expression of the real amount of force he used. Narlafayn blinked twice at the two Dwarven girls now rolling on the ground, holding their foreheads, and then back up at the group. Yet another Dark Elf, this one with black, slicked back hair and wearing white armor (one Narlafayn guessed was a Bladedancer as well judging by the dual swords he carried), stood at the head of the group, his face hidden by his hand. He shook his head and sighed heavily, as if the Dwarves' actions were a daily occurrence. Cruisnik stood gracefully as he realized the Dwarves weren't getting up any time soon, and sheathed his swords.

"Gab, Nancy, enough." The white armored Dark Elf said in a weary voice. The Dwarves ignored him and continued to roll in their dramatic display.

"Owches, my brains! He damaged my brains!" The one with the Midget-like hairstyle cried, rolling back and forth in the dirt like a flipped turtle. She was scroungy looking for a Dwarf, smudges of dirt covering what Narlafayn could see of her face and staining her armor. She sat up after a moment, and held out her hand to Cruisnik with a stern frown. "Gimmie adena! You must pay for my new brains!" she exclaimed. Cruisnik lifted an eyebrow at her before reaching into his travel pack and removing a tiny purple music crystal. It was a common item, usually given out by warrior schools as a gift for good grades. The orange-haired dwarf first looked at it hopefully, but then let out an unhappy noise as she realized what it was. "How dare you, that won't give me new brains!" she glared, pocketing the crystal anyway. She looked down at her companion, who was still rolling. "Gabby, we done being hurted now." The Dwarf said. The second stopped rolling and stood, and brushed off the seat of her pants.

"Ok!" she exclaimed, seemingly unhurt. The two Dwarves dashed away in the next instant, and searched the crevices in the cavern curiously until a growling Cave Beast's arm appeared, reaching for them. With a triumphant cry, the two Dwarves began beating on the Beast's arm with their maces, filling the cavern with its pained cries.

"Sorry about that, the girls are easily excitable…" the white-armored Bladedancer began. Narlafayn waved off his apology and smiled nervously.

"I'm getting used to the habits of Dwarves…just surprised me is all." She said, glancing warily at the two Dwarves still torturing the Cave Beast. She quickly sized up the rest of the group in front of her; on one side of the Bladedancer stood a blonde-haired light elf that appeared to be following the specks floating in front of her eyes with how her eyes moved across the cavern ceiling. She clung tightly to one arm of the Bladedancer while on his other side stood an annoyed looking, brown-haired human mage, who kept glaring at the light elf. Behind him was a pair of Orcs that stood close to one another, and another human mystic, this one with strawberry blonde hair, who was trying to get one of the Dwarves to settle down so she could heal the bumps on their foreheads.

"Well then…good bye." The white-armored Bladedancer said after a moment of silence. He nodded to Narlafayn and Cruisnik before motioning his party deeper into the caverns. The Dwarves seemed to have successfully done away with the Cave Beast, and ran happily behind them, chattering back and forth to one another. Narlafayn blinked, unsure if she'd just made a new acquaintance or not.

"That would be the clan known as Wrath of Sorrow." Cruisnik stated, answering the question that hadn't yet begun to form in Narlafayn's mind. "From what I know, the white-armored guy is Ashamen, their leader, the blonde is his personal heal slave or mistress, I'm not sure which, named Anna. The jealous-looking human on his other side is known as Helene, the other human is called Dakota, and the Dwarves are known as Gabriella and Nancy. Don't ask me which one is which, they're both equally noisy." He grimaced. "As for the Orcs, no clue who they are, seen them around but they don't talk much." He finished. Narlafayn looked at Cruisnik in surprise, not expecting him to have been so knowledgeable about others.

"They sure like Avadon…"Narlafayn stated, looking over her shoulder at the departing group. The woman Orc, Anna, Dakota and one of the Dwarves all wore a form of Avadon armor tailored in the classical styles of their races. As if sensing her eyes on them, the Dwarf with braided hair stopped mid-run, did a little hop to turn around, and waved vigorously at them. Narlafayn smiled nervously and waved back, and the Dwarf raced back to the group.

Cruisnik led Narlafayn out of the cave not an hour later, the light burning their eyes after being so long in the darkness of Antharas' Lair. Once her eyes became accustomed to the light again, she lowered her hand and gazed at the scenery around them. It was barren, only sparse, dried weeds seemed to have at one time thrived in this place. The ground was covered in tan, cracked dirt, and tall jagged cliffs stretched to the sky. She jumped and ducked down as a smaller blue dragon flew low over head. Cruisnik looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, not phased in the slightest at the sight of a dragon.

"Never been to Dragon Valley before?" he asked as she warily stood once more.

"Not this far in, just at the mouth to hunt some of the undead once…" she said nervously, scanning the sky for more dragons. Cruisnik shifted as Narlafayn watched her surroundings, as one does when patiently tolerating a curious child.

"Well, where are we going next?" he asked after a while.

"Rune…that's where Terebel said he was heading next before…wait, 'we'?" she asked, finally catching the entirety of his statement halfway through her mindless rambling. Cruisnik raised an eyebrow at her confusion, and tilted his head slightly.

"Of course, I can't let you get yourself into any more trouble, can I? You seem to be the type that attracts it." He responded. He began walking away from the Lair, to an out cropping of rocks on the jagged cliff walls that surrounded them. "You're Ryonai's only Temple Knight, are you not? It'd be a shame to see you get killed on a simple journey north. It's also rather boring up in Schuttgart, so this will give me some amusement for the time being." He said. Narlafayn stopped mid-step to stare at him in disbelief.

"If you're just going to travel with me for your own amusement…" she began, but was interrupted as he tossed a rolled up scroll at her. She caught it before it smacked her ungracefully in the face, and looked at it in her hands as if she'd never seen it before.

"You do know how to use a Scroll of Escape, right?" he asked, watching her patiently. Narlafayn growled softly in her throat and clenched the hand that held the scroll, crumpling it slightly.

"Yes, I know how to use a Gatekeeper scroll." She said through clenched teeth. Cruisnik nodded once as she opened it. A blue-white magic star flared to life beneath her feet as the magic incantation on the parchment read itself and cast the magic to send her to the closest city.

"Good, I'll meet up with you at the Grocer in Giran. We'll resupply, do a few gate jumps before reaching Rune territory and hiking the rest of the way." He plotted. Narlafayn tilted her head in confusion as he stood there watching her, not moving to open his own scroll

"This wasn't your last scroll was it?" she asked, frowning.

"Nope, just waiting to make sure you make it out all right." Cruisnik replied, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the rock wall behind them. Narlafayn blushed despite herself, and looked away from him. He faded in the next instant as the magic finished, the world becoming nothing but black wind as Narlafayn was propelled through the dimensional fabric. When light returned, she was once again in the middle of Giran's busy marketplace, surrounded by noisy merchants trying to display their wares.

"All right, time to go get Terebel." She murmured to herself, and started for the grocer.

Several days later, Mune stood at the top of the steep, three mile long ramp-road that was the only connection between the lower level and the upper, smirking. Twenty feet down the ramp was Kartia, panting and heaving and looking generally bedraggled and angry, dragging a bag of books behind her. Mune herself had a small stack, but nothing nearly as heavy as what the Abyssal Celebrant carried.

"Was it…really…necessary…to walk…the long way?" she gasped as she reached the top of the ramp. "There is…a perfectly good…Gatekeeper…who would've…gotten us up here…that much faster…"she wheezed as she gasped, her soft life evident with her exhaustion. Mune smiled sweetly at her and shifted her small stack of books.

"I'm not allowed inside of the church on either level." She said, spinning on heel and walking into the rich level of the city happily. Kartia growled in her throat and shouldered the bag of books as she started after her.

"Yes, but I could've used it…" she growled, glaring at the back of Mune's head. Mune turned around to look at her in a confused expression that she clearly recalled Cesa giving others during her more ditzy moments. She turned back around without a word, and chuckled darkly to herself as she heard Kartia growl again.

As the pair came in sight of the church, Mune frowned as she saw someone who clearly resembled Narlafayn standing outside of it, looking at it in worry. Her eye twitched as she zeroed in on the silver-haired Dark Elf next to her, the man's appearance instantly bringing to her mind Evzen. This irritated her, and she dropped her books in front of a surprised Kartia to march over to the pair and grab Narlafayn's shoulder roughly.

"Who's he?" she demanded, skipping greetings and pointing at Cruisnik.

"Wow." He said, drawing his head away from the offending finger. "Friendly kind of gal, I like her." He said sarcastically. It was lost on Mune, and she faced him quickly with a glare. She turned back to Narlafayn after staring down the other Bladedancer.

"You break it off with Terebel and find ANOTHER Dark Elf to take his place? What's wrong with you, do you have something loose in that brain of yours?" she spat. Narlafayn first looked at her in horror, and then dissolved into her own angry glare.

"Just because I show up here with a traveling companion doesn't mean I've broken up or am dating someone new, Mune." Narlafayn responded with equal spite. "You were stupid to get rid of the only person to ever look at a fake lesbian like you, that doesn't mean you have to break up every single couple that has difficulties just so you feel better."

Mune's eyes widened in horror, and before Narlafayn could react, reeled one fist back and punched the other girl's face. Cruisnik's mouth dropped open and he stepped forward with one hand out, but Narlafayn retaliated with a smack to Mune's face that was hard enough to pop her jaw. The two girls then launched into a loud argument after that, both speaking too fast for anyone outside of the conversation to catch.

"Did I miss something?" Cruisnik asked, looking at Kartia. He winced and looked away a moment later, and placed a hand over his face. "Oh gods, not you." He grimaced, recognizing her. Kartia tossed her hair over her shoulder in a haughty motion, and stuck her nose in the air.

"So I see the walking puss bag enjoys garbage-worthy Dark Elves." She stated loudly, giving Cruisnik a sneer. Mune and Narlafayn stopped arguing instantly to look at her, and then to Cruisnik. Realizing that she finally had the spotlight, Kartia walked around the group of Elves slowly, like a prowling cat. "Don't worry, you vile putrice Elf, Terebel will be well taken care of. I've already comforted him in…SO many ways since I arrived here." She said triumphantly, laughing lightly with her words. She smirked as the color drained from Narlafayn's face, and tossed her hair again.

"You have not you lying piece of sh…" Mune began, but was cut off as Terebel cleared his throat behind her. She turned to look over her shoulder with large eyes to find him standing at the entrance to the church, looking at the group with a frown.

"You guys were so loud that you disturbed the ceremony in there…"his voice trailed off as he laid eyes on Narlafayn. She stared hard at the ground, her shoulders hunched and fists clenched and trembling. Sobbing once, she lifted her head and looked at him with tear-filled eyes once before racing away.

"What's going on out here?" the head Priest demanded, emerging from the church this time. Groaning at the luck, Terebel turned and began to concoct an elaborate story to excuse the noise that had happened, giving the rest of the group a chance to slip away and save face. Despite his earlier years of being a free spirit, Terebel had inherited Ballard's political savvy and had become a favorite politician of the church. He knew it wouldn't take him long to ease the easily wounded pride of the head priest, and then he'd go find Narlafayn and find out why she was in Rune.

Narlafayn had dashed through the rich part of the city and passed through a small grove of trees that had been planted for decoration around an archway, and realized she'd found a massive observation balcony that looked over Rune Castle. The wind howled up here, and blew her hair from her face and whipped it around her. Goosebumps broke out on her flesh, and she rubbed her bare arms to try and rid herself of it.

Tears still stung her eyes, and she leaned heavily on the stone railing of the balcony to sob. If what Kartia spoke was true, why would Terebel go to her so quickly? Was he really that dissatisfied with her after all? He was a Dark Elf…was she not enough for him in the end?

"You're not going to jump, are you?" Cruisnik asked as he approached her. Startled, Narlafayn opened her eyes with a gasp, and for the first time saw how high up she truly was. Thin clouds rushed by below the balcony, the ground so far below she couldn't even make out the leaves on the sparse trees that grew there. Reeling, she stumbled away from the railing and fell onto Cruisnik. He barely caught her arms in time, surprised and embarrassed by the sudden contact. She fell limp against his chest, and began to sniffle again, her hands clenching into fists as he held her up by her elbows. "Are you ok?" he asked in a low voice, wishing that she would stand on her own two feet so he could talk to her properly.

"Why would he leave me so fast…? We had a misunderstanding…a stupid joke that bitch played on us…and he got mad at me for it…"she sobbed, leaning her forehead on his breastplate. Cruisnik raised an eyebrow and shifted, trying to balance her better.

"Are you sure she's not just blowing shit out of her mouth? I know that Kartia, she has a bad habit of doing that…especially when she's going to get in trouble or loose an argument." Cruisnik asked seriously. Narlafayn looked up at him slowly, common sense shining through her misery. Cruisnik shrugged lightly as she stared at him as if seeing him for the first time, and her face brightened.

"Of course! Why have I been stupid this entire time! This whole mess has me thinking stupidly!" she suddenly exclaimed happily. "Thank you!" she threw her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly, causing him to stumble with the force of it.

"No problem…" he said uncertainly, never expecting her to hug him for stating the obvious. He patted her lightly on the back of her head as she clung, and then froze as he felt an angry glare on his back, the feeling similar to having hot pokers shoved into his armor. He glanced over his shoulder to find Terebel standing at the balcony entryway, not bothering to hide the jealous anger darkening his face. "Ah, Narla, I think there's someone here to see you…" Cruisnik said, pulling himself out of her death-grip hug. She stood on her own and pushed the hair from her face as Cruisnik stepped behind her, her breath catching in her throat as she saw Terebel.

"What is this?" he asked bluntly, walking out onto the balcony. Narlafayn frowned and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked between him and Cruisnik in confusion. When he received no answer, Terebel motioned violently between her and the other Dark Elf. "Kartia tells me that you found another guy and brought him to Rune to show him off like some prideful baroness, which I was inclined not to believe, but now that I come up here and see you clinging to him, I'm finding now that I have to wonder…"

"That's not true; Cruisnik just accompanied me here out of kindness!" Narlafayn exclaimed. Her mouth had dropped open in shock while Terebel spoke; she couldn't believe that he'd find truth in such an obviously fabricated story!

"Amusement, actually. But other than that it's true." Cruisnik stated nonchalantly with a shrug. He held his hands up defensively as Terebel shot him a quick glare before looking back at Narlafayn.

"How can you believe Kartia? She's the one who made us fight in the first place!" Narlafayn shot out this time, finding a proverbial foothold. "How can I not believe that you haven't been really sneaking off to be with her, or some other woman when you go out on these months-long trips?" Her voice choked up as she spoke, she'd never truthfully thought Terebel would do that to her, and the idea had never crossed her mind until that moment.

"That's a good point…" Cruisnik offered thoughtfully.

"Back at you Narlafayn, obviously you're snuggling up with old boyfriends while I'm gone!" Terebel retorted, taking a step towards her.

"She is, I saw her!" Kartia exclaimed. Terebel turned to find Mune and Kartia standing in the entryway behind him, Mune pouting angrily with her arms folded across her chest. Kartia stepped forward with an accusing finger pointed at Narlafayn. "I saw her myself, kissing Deathswalker behind your house!" she said triumphantly, as if calling out a witch to a church committee. There was a moment of intense silence, and Narlafayn was sure the others could hear her heart thudding in her chest.

"Wait, who told you about that, I sure as hell didn't…" Terebel finally stated, his honestly confused tone breaking the intense mood that had fallen over the group. Kartia stumbled slightly on her feet, thrown off by his question. She looked at him with large eyes, and then around to the rest of the group. "M…Mune did of course! And it confirmed what I saw!" Kartia attempted, loosing her confident tone of voice.

"I didn't tell you jack shit; don't try to force me into your lie." Mune growled.

"And what would an Abyssal Celebrant like you, who cherishes all of the old traditions including purity of blood and Dark Elf superiority, be doing in the Elven Village?" Cruisnik asked, grinning at her as she looked at him with the same horrified expression. Terebel put a hand to his forehead and rubbed it, trying to get the current situation straight within his mind.

"Let me get this straight…Kartia, are you trying to sabotage my relationship? Because that's what it seems like right now and if it's true, so help me not even the Abyss will get all of your pieces after I'm through with…"

"I only did it for your own good!" Kartia suddenly exclaimed, interrupting him. She rushed forward and dramatically fell to her knees to cling to his wrist. "An exceptional specimen of Dark Elf like yourself…surely you know our race is stagnating right now…your legacy shouldn't go to waste within the cesspit of a Light Elf…"

"_Half_ Dark Elf." Narlafayn's voice came. A small smile of hope emerged on her face and she chuckled breathlessly as Kartia slowly looked at her, her eyes large and angry. "He's half Dark Elf…didn't you know? His father is Mune's grandfather."

Kartia's head snapped back to look at Terebel, who looked down at her innocently. "I did say she was my niece." He stated with a shrug. "What did you think it was, an endearment? Hells no, I'd rather be as far away from her as possible, she's mean." Kartia stood slowly as he spoke and released his wrist.

"That's not true…" she whispered hoarsely, suddenly looking disgusted with herself. "What that stink speaks is lies…right?" Terebel frowned thoughtfully as he scratched the back of his head for a moment before looking at her with a genuine smile.

"Nope, my dad was a Light Elf." He said cheerfully. Kartia gasped loudly and pressed her hand over her mouth. She then looked at her hand as if it offended her, and then down to the rest of her body. "Yeah…what you said all those years ago when we were younger was true…I'm not full Dark Elf after all." He crossed the balcony to stand in front of Narlafayn, and looked down at her with a soft expression. "That's why I'm not afraid to admit I've fallen in love." He said gently, caressing Narlafayn's face.

"Yep, guess that means you'll have to kill yourself Kartia." Cruisnik stated in an equally cheerful voice. Kartia's response to him was to let out a horrified scream, one that startled apart the nearly embraced couple in front of Cruisnik. They turned to look at her as she did a strange, prancing tantrum dance on the balcony, gripping the spiked decorative crown all Celebrants wore. She calmed herself after a moment, and took a deep breath to regain her haughty composure.

"So tell me Cruisnik D'Arsha, how IS your Sword Maiden these days?" she said with a sneer, smirking as Cruisnik's jovial expression faded. It turned into a glare, and he narrowed his eyes at Kartia.

"Sword Maiden? Wow that's archaic." Terebel stated in mild surprise, looking at Cruisnik. "Are you _that _old?" Kartia gave Terebel a disgusted look before flashing another smirk at Cruisnik and strutting off of the balcony without anything remotely near to a farewell.

"What's a Sword Maiden?" Mune asked curiously. Terebel thought for a moment before shrugging lightly.

"Something that faded before I became a Bladedancer…apparently once upon a time we used to only be able to do our thing properly if our partner, usually a girl with a musical instrument of some sort, would play ancient melodies for us. I'm told I'm one of the first Bladedancers to not need a Sword Maiden, the talent just comes naturally…but to have had one…what are you, nearly 500, Cruisnik?" Terebel finished his story with a question and looked to the Bladedancer behind them, only to find that Cruisnik had slipped away through the entrance on the other side of the balcony.

"Rude can of rotted food." Mune grumbled. She spun on heel and marched out through the doorway from which she'd entered, knowing that Terebel and Narlafayn were surely going to enter the land that only the two of them inhabited in the next moment.

"I'm sorry." Both stated at the same time once Mune was gone. They chuckled at the same time afterwords, and Narlafayn blushed. Smiling softly, Terebel pressed her close and caressed her cheek again before placing his finger beneath her chin to raise her face up so he could kiss her. It was a tender kiss, packed with their emotions that left them breathless as they parted for air.

"Do you find Deathswalker attractive at all?" Terebel asked abruptly as they gazed at each other. Narlafayn frowned in an instant, feeling the mood shatter around her.

"I'm offended that you would ask that." She said in a sour voice. Terebel laughed and hugged her close, trapping her face in a cave made by his arms and chest. He kissed the top of her head before resting his chin upon it.

"Let's get married, then people might stop trying to get between us." He stated casually. Narlafayn froze and pulled away from him with difficulty to look at his face. He grinned at her warmly as she eyed him warily, and kissed her. "I'm serious…I want to be able to pronounce your last name for once." He said jokingly, resting his forehead against hers.

"Eadóchas." She said flatly, lowering her eyelids slightly in an annoyed expression. "You fail for romantic proposals; Cesa would smack you for that." She added. It was Terebel's turn to look at her in annoyance.

"Oh, so you want one of these?" he challenged, pulling away from her. He grabbed her by her wrist and led her off the balcony to the bustling rich residential section of Rune. Narlafayn's eyes widened as he led her towards the church, and she began to resist his pulling.

"What are you doing!" she hissed, feeling as if sheer embarrassment was imminent. To her horror, Terebel burst into the church where a baptismal ceremony was going on, and marched to the center of the sanctuary.

"May I have your attention please; I'll only take a moment!" Terebel called, his voice amplified by the stone walls of the sanctuary. The head Priest frowned at him, still holding the fussing baby that he was in the middle of blessing. The parents of the child looked at Terebel in horror, shocked that the Seal of Gnosis would interrupt an important ceremony. The friends and family of the child getting baptized looked amongst each other in confusion, and the Priests and Priestesses behind the head Priest giggled behind their hands.

"Terebel, don't!" Narlafayn pleaded in a small voice, trying to hide her face with one hand. She covered her eyes as Terebel dropped down to one knee. He reached up to grab her other hand and hold it, making sure she could look at no one but him.

"Narlafayn Ea-doe-case...love of my life…fruit of eternity that I draw life from…the wind upon which I fly, the music to which I dance…"Narlafayn finally broke with his words, and burst into quiet tears, her face red with embarrassment, but heart full despite her efforts at ignoring it. Terebel smiled at the sight of her tears, and caressed the back of her hands with his thumbs. "…could you possibly…find it in your heart…to forgive an imperfect idiot like myself…and become his wife?" There was a traditional tense moment following his question, as if the air had been sucked from the church, even the baby had become silent. The congregation burst out in applause as Narlafayn nodded, and Terebel rose to hug her tightly and kiss her. They exited the church to a chorus of congratulations and happy smiles, the only faces not happy for the newly engaged couple were those of the head Priest and the parents of the baby.

"You realize we just stole the meaning of the day from those parents and their baby, right?" Narlafayn stated more than asked as she and Terebel walked away from the church hand in hand. Terebel stopped walking to look at her in shock; an expression Narlafayn thought was feigned until the Head Priest burst from the church with an angry roar.

"TEREBEL BAHS!" he shouted, storming out. Catching sight of them he shouted triumphantly and began storming towards them, holding up his ceremonial robes like an angry housewife would her skirts.

"Oh shit, run!" Terebel exclaimed, pulling Narlafayn as he dashed into the crowd.


	3. Chapter 2

**Part 1-**

_Mune recalls Terebel and Narlafayn's issues._

Mune had never seen a couple more aroused by the other than Terebel and Narlafayn. After he returned, they were rarely seen outside of the bedroom, and if they were outside of the bedroom they were either in a daze or relocating somewhere in the forest to have a repeat performance of whatever they were doing in the bedroom. Such behavior was expected from Terebel, he was half Dark Elf after all, and renowned years prior to Narlafayn for having a new girlfriend every hour or two, but seeing the human-brained Narlafayn behaving the same as well shocked Mune at first. She'd finally grown used to seeing Narlafayn's nymphomaniac side, but it'd taken all of the five years for it to happen. She knew very well that Terebel's rush to get back to the Village was to try and set a new record of getting under Narlafayn's dress.

Not long after returning to humanity, Terebel had assumed his role of the Seal of Gnosis, and began the traditional pilgrimages to the different cities so that those involved with the Seals could make certain the Seal of Gnosis was strong, and the Seal Keeper on the side of Dawn. It was the very same pilgrimages that Ballard had taken himself while living, and was hard on Mune at first.

During one such trip a few months after falling into their roles, Terebel's ex-girlfriend Kartia, a celebrant from the Dark Elven Village, decided she wanted to sabotage Terebel and Narlafayn's relationship out of jealousy. She teamed up with a one-night stand of Narlafayn's, an Abyss Walker who went by the name Deathswalker. The two of them concocted an elaborate story, and approached the pair separately to put it into motion. Even though Mune wanted nothing to do with it, she found herself at the center of their argument when everything came to a head. Mune wasn't sure what Kartia and Deathswalker had done, but they'd successfully turned the closest couple she knew into the most mistrusting. Terebel left soon after their argument, and dragged Mune up to Rune, while Narlafayn remained in the Village, alone.

"Get up; I'm tired of seeing you mope." Vuylay's voice came through the blanket Narlafayn had pulled over her head. Narlafayn threw the covers away from her face in a hurry, her eyes large with surprise as she found her violet-haired, green-eyed friend staring down at her. Vuylay still wore her hair in the banged ponytail fashion, but now she wore a rich, wide-skirted, pale orange dress with a tight, embroidered bodice befitting a noblewoman. Lace sprung elegantly from the top of the bodice to cover her breasts, which, to Narlafayn's shock, were no longer the humongous watermelons that they'd been while the pair traveled together. After the lace, the only thing covering Vuylay's chest was the sleeves, which sprung directly from the bodice to cover her arms. In her arms she held one of her twins, who cooed and reached for the wisps of her ponytail that hung over her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Narlafayn exclaimed, her jaw dropping. Vuylay pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"Glarawen contacted me and told me that you'd had an argument with Terebel, and I knew in an instant you were going to curl up in bed and pout. I came to put a stop to that idiocy and get you back on track with the wayward lover boy once and for all." She stated in a no-nonsense tone, walking to the window and opening the shutters on it to let the light in. Her layered petticoat rustled beneath her dress as she walked, and Narlafayn wondered in the back of her head how she'd gotten used to wearing so many layers around her legs. Sunlight flared in as soon as the shutters were thrown open, and Narlafayn covered her face to hide from the glare. She lowered her hand a moment later to stare at her bedspread helplessly.

"It won't do any good. He swears he saw me kissing Deathswalker outside of the house." Narlafayn said, her shoulders drooping. Vuylay paused mid-step as she traveled back across Narlafayn's room.

"_Were_ you kissing him?" Vuylay asked, her eyebrows rising in interest. Narlafayn looked at her in horror, not bothering to disguise the disgust in her eyes. "I take that as a no." she said with a satisfied smirk. "If that's all that's to it, we'll just find Terebel, twist his little boy parts and make him realize that he made a mistake, simple," she finished with a smirk. This faded as Narlafayn's only reply was to sigh heavily and let her shoulders droop even further. Echoing the sigh, Vuylay shifted Hara, her baby girl, and sat down on the edge of Narlafayn's bed. "There's more to the story, isn't there?" Vuylay stated more than asked. Narlafayn swallowed and gave Vuylay a feeble smile.

"The thing is…I saw him kissing that girl we caught him with before the war…that one Celebrant from the Dark Elven Village…what was her name?" Narlafayn frowned as she tried to recall the woman's name, and realized she'd never really caught it before. She'd left Amari's house in such a hurry after finding Terebel in bed with her. Narlafayn jumped as Vuylay let out a strange high-pitched noise that made Hara fuss. She flew to her feet in a hurry, turning the baby's unhappy whimper into a giggle of enjoyment.

"If Kartia had something to do with it, then I know that it was a misunderstanding. Get dressed NOW, Narla, we're going to put our collective boots through both of that bitches eyes." Vuylay snarled, stomping over to Narlafayn's dresser and opening a drawer to toss clothes at her. "I can't believe you fell for one of her tricks…I just can't…" she grumbled, tapping her foot impatiently as Narlafayn slowly dragged herself from the bed to dress. "Hurry up already! The longer we wait, the farther north he's going to get!"

Narlafayn quickly dressed as Vuylay grumbled to herself, her fingers slipping as she tried to button the tunic of her dress. It consisted of a form-fitting, short sleeved, light blue tunic that buttoned down to her waist, a long dark blue skirt extending from the hem to her ankles. Vuylay snatched her wrist impatiently and toted her out of her room before she'd finished buttoning the last button.

"Alright Cesa, Glara, will you watch Hara for me? I've got some people to kill." Vuylay announced as she pulled Narlafayn through the living room. Narlafayn blinked as she realized both Cesa and Glarawen were seated on the couch, cooing over Vuylay's son, Ren. Celleriant and Arvalo sat nearby, and looked up at them with pleading expressions.

"Oh certainly! I just love babies!" Cesa exclaimed, jumping up to take Hara from Vuylay. Glarawen giggled her agreement, and snuggled Ren close. It almost seemed to Narlafayn that Ren was enjoying himself more than a baby should with how he giggled and cooed. _He's definitely his father's son…._she thought, shutting her eyes into a thin line.

Narlafayn, Terebel and Mune had come to take up residence in the house that had belonged to Lavinia. She and Oonugh had settled in Hunter's Village, so instead of letting the house fall into ruin, or going through the hassle of selling it to strangers, she'd simply passed on the title for it to Terebel. It saddened Narlafayn that Lavinia would most likely never again set foot inside of the Elven Village, but she was satisfied in Hunter's Village. Last she'd heard, Lavinia and Oonugh had been married by the chief hunter there, and they'd taken on a new last name of Deepstrom, since Lavinia couldn't take his Orcish clan name. She ran a library in the Village now, and was happily content and expecting her very first baby.

"Can I come with?" Waverly asked eagerly, jumping up from where he sat on the floor. Iris attempted to do the same, but she wasn't as swift on her feet as he was, and ended up falling over again.

"No." Vuylay responded, narrowing her eyes at the five year old. He looked down in an instant and stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

"Oh honey, let's have another!" Glarawen suddenly exclaimed, snuggling Ren close and looking at Arvalo with shining eyes. Narlafayn clenched her jaw shut as Arvalo paled, and swallowed her laugh.

"Alright, let's go. I have rage that needs an outlet." Vuylay growled, grabbing Narlafayn by her wrist and dragging her out of the door. Narlafayn began to protest that neither of them was packed properly for the two-week journey across the forest to the plateau that would take them to the Dark Forest, but her words were silenced as Vuylay produced a fat coin pouch at the Gatekeeper. It was another thing that saddened Narlafayn; everyone seemed to have money nowadays, and traveled by Gatekeeper more than on foot. She was still poor however, and had to still travel the old-fashioned way.

Within moments they blinked to Gludio, where Vuylay purchased a connecting gate to the Dark Elven Village. Narlafayn winced as the blinding darkness of the Dark Elven Village momentarily robbed her of sight, and rubbed her eyes vigorously. When her eyes adjusted, she glanced around curiously. She hadn't been to the Dark Elven Village since the day she found Terebel with Kartia, and much had changed.

The buildings were still the same as they'd always been, but the Village seemed emptier somehow. Before there'd been a constant buzz of conversation and crowds of people looking for a warm body for the night, but now they were scattered, and only quiet whispering met her ears.

"What happened here?" Narlafayn asked in wonder, shocked as a Dark Elf merely glanced at her and then away, indifferent to her presence. Had it been years before, she would've been greeted with a sneer or with a flirtatious wink.

"Harne wrote and said people are moving away from the Village now. Partially because that Primeval Island just off the coast, but mostly because there's no children anymore." Vuylay said in a distracted tone, pulling fancy, lace-edged wrist gloves from her bodice and putting them on. Narlafayn gave her friend a wan smile as she realized Vuylay was trying to look her absolute best before stepping away from the Village Gatekeeper. She'd received scorn every day of her life in the Village, and now she wanted to be sure that she showed off that she was nobility now.

"It's sad I know, but I always knew our race was heading to extinction with the practices they held. I could easily send Hara or Ren here to study, but since they treated me as scum, we're investing our money in our own academy." She said bitterly, folding her arms across her chest and blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Alright, let's go. Let's stop in and speak to Harne, she might know what's going on." She decided, leading the way towards the long staircase that led to the Elder's Temple.

As they passed a darkened home near the staircase, a peal of sinister laughter followed by a dark male voice murmuring something in response met Narlafayn's ears. She felt her skin crawl at the sound of the man's voice, and she halted just past the door. Her heart began to thud in anxiety, and she looked at Vuylay with large eyes.

"What is it?" Vuylay asked, frowning at her expression. Narlafayn turned without responding, and crept closer to the open window that she heard the voices emanating from. Curious, Vuylay tilted her head and followed, taking on a similar crouching pose as Narlafayn. Her face darkened as a woman's voice responded to the man's, and she growled under her breath. "Kartia." She grumbled bitterly.

"I didn't make a joke." Deathswalker's voice came next. It was angry, and an exasperated noise followed as Kartia laughed again.

"Sure you did, claiming you came up with that idea yourself. That's the funniest thing I've heard all day." Kartia responded. Her voice shifted from one side of the window to the other as she walked across the room she and Deathswalker were talking in. "Besides, shouldn't you be out seducing that bitch ex-girlfriend of his? Isn't that what you signed up for?" Kartia sneered. Narlafayn, standing above Vuylay whom had crouched to the ground, stiffened at her words and sucked in an audible breath in anger. Vuylay glared up at her and held a finger to her lips to silence her.

"In due time. I have to make sure the grief has settled nicely in her heart before making a move. It's no fun otherwise." Deathswalker responded nonchalantly.

"Narla!" Vuylay hissed as Narlafayn spun on her heel and marched towards the door of the house. Vuylay tried to follow after her in a hurry, but her layers of dress slipped under the toe of her shoe, and she stumbled ungracefully. "Narla, get back here!" Vuylay whispered loudly. She hid her face in her hand as she heard the front door of the house slam open, and noises of surprise come through the window.

"It was YOU." Narlafayn bellowed, pointing at the pair who stood before her, bewildered. Kartia saved face first, and tossed her hair over her shoulder with a pompous air.

"What of it? He was obviously dissatisfied with you, with how easily he left you." She sniffed, sticking her nose in the air. Vuylay emerged in the doorway to the house, panting and holding her shoes in her hand, just as Narlafayn lifted one arm and punched Kartia as hard as she could in the eye. Her jaw dropped open in shock as Kartia stumbled backwards and slammed into the wall, her arms flailing as she tried to catch herself.

"I'm not even acknowledging you." Narlafayn spat, glaring at Deathswalker briefly before turning on heel and marching out of the house. Vuylay watched her leave with her mouth still agape before trying to put her shoes back on and hurry after her.

"Narla, wait!" she called, hopping on one foot as she shoved the other into a heeled shoe. She glanced into the house one last time to find Deathswalker staring at Kartia without compassion, and Kartia still on the floor in a daze. A bruise had begun to shine around her eye, and Vuylay snorted in laughter. Finally getting both feet in her shoes again, Vuylay held up her skirt and hurried after Narlafayn.

"Lend me some money to get back to the Elven Village, would you?" Narlafayn demanded, holding out her hand towards Vuylay without looking at her. Surprised by her tone of voice, Vuylay stared at her speechlessly as she fished through her money pouch for the fee that would return her to the Elven Village. Vuylay froze just as she withdrew some coins, and glared.

"You're not going back to pout, are you?" she asked in a flat tone. Narlafayn sighed impatiently and returned the glare.

"Don't be stupid, I'm going to pack up and go get the idiot." She retorted. A wide grin slowly spread on Vuylay's face, and she placed the coins in her hand with a satisfied smirk.

"Make sure you have lots of make-up sex!" Vuylay called as Narlafayn faded after paying the Gatekeeper.

"VUYLAY!" she exclaimed in embarrassment before completely disappearing.

From what Mune was told after the incident was over, Narlafayn dressed in her Nightmare armor and left for the northern lands as fast as she could. Vuylay lent her extra money to travel by Gatekeeper, so she wouldn't fall much farther behind. She made a pit stop in Giran to resupply herself…a stop that would cost her.

Deathswalker, humiliated by her display in the Dark Elven Village, caught up with her in Giran, and knocked her unconscious as she walked between houses on her way to the city square. He bought a Gate port to the mouth of Anthras' Lair, where he paid a Dwarven trader to take her deep within the cave and leave her. The merchant obliged, and Narlafayn awoke some odd hours later in a crevice off of a room crawling with Anthras' demonic children. The day Giran was attacked by these very same children was still fresh in her memories, and Narlafayn could only curl up and sob in fright. She couldn't take the monsters alone…not without Terebel.

Farther north, Terebel and Mune were busy with rituals and ceremonies in Rune and oblivious to Narlafayn's plight. Mune herself had been bored in Terebel's wake, watching the officials prance and parade in front of him as if he were the new King. It made her uncomfortable to be back in Rune after all that had happened to her there, but the city had covered up the pagan incident and nothing of it remained. Not even a bloodstain graced the carpet of the library where the Pagans had committed their ritualistic suicide. That being said though, Mune would probably have to admit that the knowledge that rats ran unseen through the city made her more uncomfortable than the covered-up murder-suicide. Not to mention, she was still banned from the church, especially the level where the young Mother Tree stood.

Mune decided that day, that she was irritated with all of the things Terebel was letting the church do with him. He was purposefully letting them keep him busy so he wouldn't have to return to the Elven Village and face Narlafayn after such a harsh argument. Mune was tired of his immaturity, so that day when he came up to her to tell her of the next ceremony he was to take part in, she said; "You're an egotistical dolt, lets go home."

Terebel blinked at her in surprise, taken back by her comment. He opened his mouth and shut it after making a small noise, unable to think of anything to say in response to her. Finally, words came to him, "What in the world are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you're purposefully ignoring Narlafayn. Even I can see you guys had a misunderstanding somewhere regardless of what you might've seen, go back and talk to her already." Mune stated in irritation. Terebel frowned and turned away to walk into of the upper level of the church. Mune sighed in exasperation and followed him. "I'm serious, you're the only guy she's got the hots for, and I thought you understood that…"

"If it had been anyone but that Deathswalker, I wouldn't have reacted this way." He snapped, spinning around unexpectedly and causing her to nearly crash into him. "She says she hates him, but you haven't seen what I've seen, Mune. She's weak to him." He sighed and put a hand over his eyes, as if trying to block a memory from resurfacing. "This one time in Giran, right before Ryonai's siege, I caught him pressing her into a corner. She wasn't fighting him; she was letting him touch her as he pleased…"

"As much as it repulses me to condone any actions with a Dark Elf, I have to say, so?" Mune interrupted, folding her arms across her chest. "If I remember correctly, the grapevine says you slept with an ex-girlfriend not long before that so why are you so uptight? You can play but she can't?" Terebel lowered his hand to stare at her in horror, as if she'd spewed garbage from her lips.

"You…have no idea…what I was going through then…" he said in a controlled voice, rage causing it to tremble. Mune scoffed and rolled her eyes in response.

"Whatever, I'm going home, with or without you." She grumbled, turning away. She slid to a halt before taking a full step as she found a person wearing a hooded traveler's cloak, standing behind her.

"Terebel!" Kartia exclaimed, pushing the hood of the cloak back and throwing herself at him. Mune blinked as a definite black eye circling the woman's right eye caught her attention. She had glamored most of the bruise away, but there was still enough color left for Mune to identify it. She raised an eyebrow at it curiously before melting into a glare at the sight of her pressed against Terebel.

"Kartia?" he exclaimed, frozen in shock as she draped herself over him. "What are you doing in Rune?" he asked, looking down at her with large eyes. She pulled away from him enough to look into his face with tear-filled eyes.

"Oh you poor dear!" she sobbed, falling onto him again and hugging him tightly. "I'd heard what that evil girl did to you…how could she break your heart? You poor thing! When I heard about it, I just _had_ to come find you and comfort your poor heart!" she sniffled daintily, and Terebel looked up at Mune in horror. Mune blinked and raised her eyebrows, but didn't move to help detach the badly acting Celebrant.

"Um…thanks for your concern...Kartia…" Terebel began, stiffly placing his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away with effort. "….but I'm really not in any need of comfort…especially not from you…"

Kartia drew away from him with a look of theatrical hurt, and put a hand over her mouth to stifle an overly-dramatic gasp. With an equally dramatic sob, she threw herself to the cobbled stone street, and hid her face from view.

"Oh woe the day that Terebel refused my affections!" she said with all of the eloquence of a diva. Terebel gave Mune a sheepish look as city folk cast them disapproving glances, and she scoffed. "Oh how dreadful, the look of hate in his eyes, when I mean nothing but the best for him!" she cried louder. People rushed past them at the sound of her voice, the looks on their faces those of people afraid they were about to witness a murder.

"Ok ok, I suppose I could use some…sympathy…" Terebel finally said, having enough of hearing her fake cry increase in volume. Kartia's voice silenced, and she looked up at Terebel with large eyes and a pretty pout on her lips.

"Do you mean that? Will you accept my affection?" she asked, making sure her bottom lip stayed thrust out while she spoke. Terebel quickly glanced at Mune, who was frozen in a look of disbelief. A sly smile crossed his face, and he leaned down to offer his hand to Kartia.

"Of course…and to prove that I care, I shall leave you to work with my niece Mune until I'm done with my duties here. Afterwords we shall return to the Village, and you may shower all the affection you wish upon a body." He said good-naturedly, turning his sly smile into a warm one for her. Kartia's pout instantly turned into a seductive smile, and she took his hand.

"Terebel!" Mune exclaimed, her expression quickly turning into one of horror. As soon as Kartia was on her feet, Terebel turned to Mune and gave her the biggest grin she'd ever seen on his face.

"Well, have fun girls. Duty calls!" he said, bowing to them and then turning away. He hurried into the church as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving Mune behind choking in astonishment. She clenched her fists and jaw after he disappeared into the darkness beyond the church gates, knowing very well that he'd left her with Kartia because he didn't feel up to dealing with her, and escaped to the only place in Rune where she couldn't follow. She slowly turned her head to look at Kartia, barely catching the tail end of the Celebrant's scowl as she put on a sickly sweet, false smile.

"So…what shall we do now, niece of Terebel?" she asked. It was obvious she intended her voice to sound sincere, but she spoke through her teeth, ruining the effect. Mune instantly glared at the woman, before an idea crossed her mind.

"Oh…we're going to have lots of fun…" she said, her own false smile mirroring Kartia's. Both women began to laugh, nervous titters at first, that quickly escalated into forced hysterical bellows as each tried to out-laugh the other.

She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep, or how she even relaxed enough to do so, but Narlafayn stirred from the dark blanket of slumber an indiscernible amount of time after she first found herself in the lair. She blinked sleep from her eyes, and realized she was covered with a heavy blanket.

Wincing as her muscles had gone stiff from being in one cramped position for so long inside of the crevice she'd taken refuge in, Narlafayn emerged and stretched. She paused mid-stretch with her arms above her head, to find a silver-haired Dark Elf looking up at her without emotion. Yelping in surprise, she jerked back, the blanket falling from her shoulders with the movement.

"Who are you?" she demanded, sizing him up. He wore black Tallum armor like Terebel, and judging by the two blades sitting on the dusty cave floor next to him, she assumed he was a Bladedancer as well. His hair was short and spiky, but a single, tiny braid dangled to the corner of his chiseled jaw in front of his left ear, and appeared to be intertwined with violet hair. His eyes were thin, and colored like crystalline steel. Lines of stress, not age, creased his face, giving him a weary appearance, but not diminishing the mysterious attractiveness all Dark Elves held.

"Perhaps we should start again…it is more polite to show gratitude, is it not?" he responded without blinking, staring straight into her eyes. Narlafayn shifted under his gaze and glanced away, suddenly feeling very small.

"Thanks?" she mumbled, ducking into her armor slightly and shuffling her feet. Realizing that she'd been instantly cowed by this stranger in front of her, she quickly stood straight again and frowned at him. "That's not a very nice thing to say, even if I did forget etiquette for a moment. I have a good excuse you know…" she stated hotly, putting her hands on her hips. The Bladedancer merely shrugged, and turned back to watching the entryway of the cavern room her crevice had been in.

"You thanked me, the debt has been paid." He said without emotion, resting his hand on his bent knee. Narlafayn stared at him, aghast that he'd just dismissed her that quickly. As she opened her mouth to retort, the Dark Elf stood and sheathed his blades. "So, shall we be going? Unless you live here of course…I however, would like to find someplace a bit more friendly in décor." He said, interrupting her before she had a chance to speak. She shut her mouth quickly, and folded her arms across her chest.

"I don't even know your name, how can I trust you." she mumbled, glancing away from him. His eyes flickered over to her briefly, as if sizing her up, then away.

"I'm called Cruisnik." He stated simply. "As for trust…I did keep watch over you while you decided to catch a catnap, but if you need further proof of peaceful intention, I'm afraid I cannot provide it for you." He said, walking away from her. "Come if you wish, but I for one am exhausted with being this close to Shilen's eldest son." He moved into the adjoining tunnel ahead of them, leaving Narlafayn behind, staring at him dumbfounded.

"Don't you want to know what my name is before you leave me behind?" she called, rushing after him as he disappeared into the darkness. She stumbled to a halt as she found him waiting patiently in the next cavern, filtered light coming in through cracks in the cavern ceiling, casting the room in a strange earthen green. He stood underneath one such beam of light, the sun shadowing his face in a mysterious way that made Narlafayn's heart involuntarily skip a beat. She looked away from him in a hurry, and rubbed her eyes with one hand. _Curse my attraction to the Dark side…_she thought, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Your name is Narlafayn. Forgive me for not remembering your last name; it's a strange one that I do recall begins with an E." Cruisnik stated as if reciting from a paper. Narlafayn turned back to him, her eyes large. He raised an eyebrow at her reaction, and then shook his head. "I've been in Haibane for over a year now, I was with you guys on the battlefield against Elmore, you don't remember?" he questioned, tilting his head towards his chest slightly as he stared at her. Narlafayn glanced to her right in thought, focusing on a crack in the cavern wall as she tried to recall the Bladedancer in front of her. There had been quite a few in Ryonai's unit, and even more Dark Elves with silver hair. Cruisnik sighed heavily and turned away to continue through the caverns.

"I'm…sorry?" she offered, hurrying after him. Cruisnik glanced at her and shrugged, his face giving away no emotion.

"It's no problem…you did seem rather distracted with your own issues….although it was pretty amazing to see you take out half of Vlad's unit outside of the Devastated Castle on your trek to make out with your boyfriend. What kind of magic was that? I've never seen any that disintegrates people before." He asked curiously, as if witnessing it hadn't bothered him in the slightest. Narlafayn's face instantly turned red, and she tried to duck down in her armor. She had the faintest of memories of those around her during the incident he spoke of, but she recalled the clearest her insistent desire for Terebel, which was causing her embarrassment now.

"So…you know Vlad personally?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Cruisnik glanced at her again, but said nothing about her dodging his question.

"Not personally. He was a decent leader, I'd say." He said. He paused abruptly, and held a hand out to halt her. He tilted his head as he listened to the cavern around him. Narrowing his eyes, he stood straight, and put his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his left hip. "What ever happened to him? Did he get his girlfriend to a doctor and is living happily with her somewhere? I didn't see him after we caught up with you guys in Aden." Narlafayn frowned slightly as she watched him listening to the sounds in the cave despite his conversation. _He must've been one of those that were denied entry into Frintezza's room…_she surmised.

"Um…Emixia…passed away…during that last battle versus Elmore." Narlafayn said in a low voice. Cruisnik lowered his head once in understanding, a motion of respect to the dead.

"I worked with her on the field a few times…she was a great fighter. A bit batty, but she really put her heart into everything Vlad asked her to do." He stated respectfully. Without warning, he drew both of his swords and charged ahead of them.

There was a hiss, and the sound of metal being pulled from a sheath. Narlafayn raced after him, her own hand seeking out her heavy Tallum blade (which had been thankfully left to her) sheathed at her side, but was stopped abruptly again as Cruisnik's blades found the body of a skinny Lizardman first. It was called a Plando, and was one of the personal scouts of Antharas. He swung his blades inward first, and then outward, cleaving the beastman in two. Never accustomed to seeing gore even after all she'd been through; Narlafayn winced and looked away as innards spilled across the floor of the dungeon.

When she was brave enough to open her eyes again, he had shaken the blood from his swords and was sheathing them once more. He turned to look at her and did a courteous half-bow, as an escort does to the nobility they're contracted to protect. "Shall we continue?" he asked, holding his arm out. Feeling as if he were mocking her, Narlafayn stuck her nose in the air and marched past him indignantly. She stopped abruptly (and wondered if she'd ever travel more than a few feet) as a medium-sized group came to a halt in the same manner in front of her.

"Look, a Pytan! Get her!" an orange-haired Dwarf with her hair styled in a similar manner as Midget and Plenty exclaimed, pointing her large axe at her. Narlafayn held her hands up and took a step away with large eyes as another orange-haired dwarf, this one with her hair in looped braids, came running out of the group with the first.

"I'm not a Pytan!" Narlafayn exclaimed, taking another step back in an attempt to flee from the stampeding Dwarves. Cruisnik pulled her out of the line of fire, causing her to stumble ungracefully, and smoothly smacked both Dwarves at the center of their foreheads with the butts of his swords. They both cried out in pained surprise, and fell flat on their backs in an exaggerated expression of the real amount of force he used. Narlafayn blinked twice at the two Dwarven girls now rolling on the ground, holding their foreheads, and then back up at the group. Yet another Dark Elf, this one with black, slicked back hair and wearing white armor (one Narlafayn guessed was a Bladedancer as well judging by the dual swords he carried), stood at the head of the group, his face hidden by his hand. He shook his head and sighed heavily, as if the Dwarves' actions were a daily occurrence. Cruisnik stood gracefully as he realized the Dwarves weren't getting up any time soon, and sheathed his swords.

"Gab, Nancy, enough." The white armored Dark Elf said in a weary voice. The Dwarves ignored him and continued to roll in their dramatic display.

"Owches, my brains! He damaged my brains!" The one with the Midget-like hairstyle cried, rolling back and forth in the dirt like a flipped turtle. She was scroungy looking for a Dwarf, smudges of dirt covering what Narlafayn could see of her face and staining her armor. She sat up after a moment, and held out her hand to Cruisnik with a stern frown. "Gimmie adena! You must pay for my new brains!" she exclaimed. Cruisnik lifted an eyebrow at her before reaching into his travel pack and removing a tiny purple music crystal. It was a common item, usually given out by warrior schools as a gift for good grades. The orange-haired dwarf first looked at it hopefully, but then let out an unhappy noise as she realized what it was. "How dare you, that won't give me new brains!" she glared, pocketing the crystal anyway. She looked down at her companion, who was still rolling. "Gabby, we done being hurted now." The Dwarf said. The second stopped rolling and stood, and brushed off the seat of her pants.

"Ok!" she exclaimed, seemingly unhurt. The two Dwarves dashed away in the next instant, and searched the crevices in the cavern curiously until a growling Cave Beast's arm appeared, reaching for them. With a triumphant cry, the two Dwarves began beating on the Beast's arm with their maces, filling the cavern with its pained cries.

"Sorry about that, the girls are easily excitable…" the white-armored Bladedancer began. Narlafayn waved off his apology and smiled nervously.

"I'm getting used to the habits of Dwarves…just surprised me is all." She said, glancing warily at the two Dwarves still torturing the Cave Beast. She quickly sized up the rest of the group in front of her; on one side of the Bladedancer stood a blonde-haired light elf that appeared to be following the specks floating in front of her eyes with how her eyes moved across the cavern ceiling. She clung tightly to one arm of the Bladedancer while on his other side stood an annoyed looking, brown-haired human mage, who kept glaring at the light elf. Behind him was a pair of Orcs that stood close to one another, and another human mystic, this one with strawberry blonde hair, who was trying to get one of the Dwarves to settle down so she could heal the bumps on their foreheads.

"Well then…good bye." The white-armored Bladedancer said after a moment of silence. He nodded to Narlafayn and Cruisnik before motioning his party deeper into the caverns. The Dwarves seemed to have successfully done away with the Cave Beast, and ran happily behind them, chattering back and forth to one another. Narlafayn blinked, unsure if she'd just made a new acquaintance or not.

"That would be the clan known as Wrath of Sorrow." Cruisnik stated, answering the question that hadn't yet begun to form in Narlafayn's mind. "From what I know, the white-armored guy is Ashamen, their leader, the blonde is his personal heal slave or mistress, I'm not sure which, named Anna. The jealous-looking human on his other side is known as Helene, the other human is called Dakota, and the Dwarves are known as Gabriella and Nancy. Don't ask me which one is which, they're both equally noisy." He grimaced. "As for the Orcs, no clue who they are, seen them around but they don't talk much." He finished. Narlafayn looked at Cruisnik in surprise, not expecting him to have been so knowledgeable about others.

"They sure like Avadon…"Narlafayn stated, looking over her shoulder at the departing group. The woman Orc, Anna, Dakota and one of the Dwarves all wore a form of Avadon armor tailored in the classical styles of their races. As if sensing her eyes on them, the Dwarf with braided hair stopped mid-run, did a little hop to turn around, and waved vigorously at them. Narlafayn smiled nervously and waved back, and the Dwarf raced back to the group.

Cruisnik led Narlafayn out of the cave not an hour later, the light burning their eyes after being so long in the darkness of Antharas' Lair. Once her eyes became accustomed to the light again, she lowered her hand and gazed at the scenery around them. It was barren, only sparse, dried weeds seemed to have at one time thrived in this place. The ground was covered in tan, cracked dirt, and tall jagged cliffs stretched to the sky. She jumped and ducked down as a smaller blue dragon flew low over head. Cruisnik looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, not phased in the slightest at the sight of a dragon.

"Never been to Dragon Valley before?" he asked as she warily stood once more.

"Not this far in, just at the mouth to hunt some of the undead once…" she said nervously, scanning the sky for more dragons. Cruisnik shifted as Narlafayn watched her surroundings, as one does when patiently tolerating a curious child.

"Well, where are we going next?" he asked after a while.

"Rune…that's where Terebel said he was heading next before…wait, 'we'?" she asked, finally catching the entirety of his statement halfway through her mindless rambling. Cruisnik raised an eyebrow at her confusion, and tilted his head slightly.

"Of course, I can't let you get yourself into any more trouble, can I? You seem to be the type that attracts it." He responded. He began walking away from the Lair, to an out cropping of rocks on the jagged cliff walls that surrounded them. "You're Ryonai's only Temple Knight, are you not? It'd be a shame to see you get killed on a simple journey north. It's also rather boring up in Schuttgart, so this will give me some amusement for the time being." He said. Narlafayn stopped mid-step to stare at him in disbelief.

"If you're just going to travel with me for your own amusement…" she began, but was interrupted as he tossed a rolled up scroll at her. She caught it before it smacked her ungracefully in the face, and looked at it in her hands as if she'd never seen it before.

"You do know how to use a Scroll of Escape, right?" he asked, watching her patiently. Narlafayn growled softly in her throat and clenched the hand that held the scroll, crumpling it slightly.

"Yes, I know how to use a Gatekeeper scroll." She said through clenched teeth. Cruisnik nodded once as she opened it. A blue-white magic star flared to life beneath her feet as the magic incantation on the parchment read itself and cast the magic to send her to the closest city.

"Good, I'll meet up with you at the Grocer in Giran. We'll resupply, do a few gate jumps before reaching Rune territory and hiking the rest of the way." He plotted. Narlafayn tilted her head in confusion as he stood there watching her, not moving to open his own scroll

"This wasn't your last scroll was it?" she asked, frowning.

"Nope, just waiting to make sure you make it out all right." Cruisnik replied, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the rock wall behind them. Narlafayn blushed despite herself, and looked away from him. He faded in the next instant as the magic finished, the world becoming nothing but black wind as Narlafayn was propelled through the dimensional fabric. When light returned, she was once again in the middle of Giran's busy marketplace, surrounded by noisy merchants trying to display their wares.

"All right, time to go get Terebel." She murmured to herself, and started for the grocer.

Several days later, Mune stood at the top of the steep, three mile long ramp-road that was the only connection between the lower level and the upper, smirking. Twenty feet down the ramp was Kartia, panting and heaving and looking generally bedraggled and angry, dragging a bag of books behind her. Mune herself had a small stack, but nothing nearly as heavy as what the Abyssal Celebrant carried.

"Was it…really…necessary…to walk…the long way?" she gasped as she reached the top of the ramp. "There is…a perfectly good…Gatekeeper…who would've…gotten us up here…that much faster…"she wheezed as she gasped, her soft life evident with her exhaustion. Mune smiled sweetly at her and shifted her small stack of books.

"I'm not allowed inside of the church on either level." She said, spinning on heel and walking into the rich level of the city happily. Kartia growled in her throat and shouldered the bag of books as she started after her.

"Yes, but I could've used it…" she growled, glaring at the back of Mune's head. Mune turned around to look at her in a confused expression that she clearly recalled Cesa giving others during her more ditzy moments. She turned back around without a word, and chuckled darkly to herself as she heard Kartia growl again.

As the pair came in sight of the church, Mune frowned as she saw someone who clearly resembled Narlafayn standing outside of it, looking at it in worry. Her eye twitched as she zeroed in on the silver-haired Dark Elf next to her, the man's appearance instantly bringing to her mind Evzen. This irritated her, and she dropped her books in front of a surprised Kartia to march over to the pair and grab Narlafayn's shoulder roughly.

"Who's he?" she demanded, skipping greetings and pointing at Cruisnik.

"Wow." He said, drawing his head away from the offending finger. "Friendly kind of gal, I like her." He said sarcastically. It was lost on Mune, and she faced him quickly with a glare. She turned back to Narlafayn after staring down the other Bladedancer.

"You break it off with Terebel and find ANOTHER Dark Elf to take his place? What's wrong with you, do you have something loose in that brain of yours?" she spat. Narlafayn first looked at her in horror, and then dissolved into her own angry glare.

"Just because I show up here with a traveling companion doesn't mean I've broken up or am dating someone new, Mune." Narlafayn responded with equal spite. "You were stupid to get rid of the only person to ever look at a fake lesbian like you, that doesn't mean you have to break up every single couple that has difficulties just so you feel better."

Mune's eyes widened in horror, and before Narlafayn could react, reeled one fist back and punched the other girl's face. Cruisnik's mouth dropped open and he stepped forward with one hand out, but Narlafayn retaliated with a smack to Mune's face that was hard enough to pop her jaw. The two girls then launched into a loud argument after that, both speaking too fast for anyone outside of the conversation to catch.

"Did I miss something?" Cruisnik asked, looking at Kartia. He winced and looked away a moment later, and placed a hand over his face. "Oh gods, not you." He grimaced, recognizing her. Kartia tossed her hair over her shoulder in a haughty motion, and stuck her nose in the air.

"So I see the walking puss bag enjoys garbage-worthy Dark Elves." She stated loudly, giving Cruisnik a sneer. Mune and Narlafayn stopped arguing instantly to look at her, and then to Cruisnik. Realizing that she finally had the spotlight, Kartia walked around the group of Elves slowly, like a prowling cat. "Don't worry, you vile putrice Elf, Terebel will be well taken care of. I've already comforted him in…SO many ways since I arrived here." She said triumphantly, laughing lightly with her words. She smirked as the color drained from Narlafayn's face, and tossed her hair again.

"You have not you lying piece of sh…" Mune began, but was cut off as Terebel cleared his throat behind her. She turned to look over her shoulder with large eyes to find him standing at the entrance to the church, looking at the group with a frown.

"You guys were so loud that you disturbed the ceremony in there…"his voice trailed off as he laid eyes on Narlafayn. She stared hard at the ground, her shoulders hunched and fists clenched and trembling. Sobbing once, she lifted her head and looked at him with tear-filled eyes once before racing away.

"What's going on out here?" the head Priest demanded, emerging from the church this time. Groaning at the luck, Terebel turned and began to concoct an elaborate story to excuse the noise that had happened, giving the rest of the group a chance to slip away and save face. Despite his earlier years of being a free spirit, Terebel had inherited Ballard's political savvy and had become a favorite politician of the church. He knew it wouldn't take him long to ease the easily wounded pride of the head priest, and then he'd go find Narlafayn and find out why she was in Rune.

Narlafayn had dashed through the rich part of the city and passed through a small grove of trees that had been planted for decoration around an archway, and realized she'd found a massive observation balcony that looked over Rune Castle. The wind howled up here, and blew her hair from her face and whipped it around her. Goosebumps broke out on her flesh, and she rubbed her bare arms to try and rid herself of it.

Tears still stung her eyes, and she leaned heavily on the stone railing of the balcony to sob. If what Kartia spoke was true, why would Terebel go to her so quickly? Was he really that dissatisfied with her after all? He was a Dark Elf…was she not enough for him in the end?

"You're not going to jump, are you?" Cruisnik asked as he approached her. Startled, Narlafayn opened her eyes with a gasp, and for the first time saw how high up she truly was. Thin clouds rushed by below the balcony, the ground so far below she couldn't even make out the leaves on the sparse trees that grew there. Reeling, she stumbled away from the railing and fell onto Cruisnik. He barely caught her arms in time, surprised and embarrassed by the sudden contact. She fell limp against his chest, and began to sniffle again, her hands clenching into fists as he held her up by her elbows. "Are you ok?" he asked in a low voice, wishing that she would stand on her own two feet so he could talk to her properly.

"Why would he leave me so fast…? We had a misunderstanding…a stupid joke that bitch played on us…and he got mad at me for it…"she sobbed, leaning her forehead on his breastplate. Cruisnik raised an eyebrow and shifted, trying to balance her better.

"Are you sure she's not just blowing shit out of her mouth? I know that Kartia, she has a bad habit of doing that…especially when she's going to get in trouble or loose an argument." Cruisnik asked seriously. Narlafayn looked up at him slowly, common sense shining through her misery. Cruisnik shrugged lightly as she stared at him as if seeing him for the first time, and her face brightened.

"Of course! Why have I been stupid this entire time! This whole mess has me thinking stupidly!" she suddenly exclaimed happily. "Thank you!" she threw her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly, causing him to stumble with the force of it.

"No problem…" he said uncertainly, never expecting her to hug him for stating the obvious. He patted her lightly on the back of her head as she clung, and then froze as he felt an angry glare on his back, the feeling similar to having hot pokers shoved into his armor. He glanced over his shoulder to find Terebel standing at the balcony entryway, not bothering to hide the jealous anger darkening his face. "Ah, Narla, I think there's someone here to see you…" Cruisnik said, pulling himself out of her death-grip hug. She stood on her own and pushed the hair from her face as Cruisnik stepped behind her, her breath catching in her throat as she saw Terebel.

"What is this?" he asked bluntly, walking out onto the balcony. Narlafayn frowned and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked between him and Cruisnik in confusion. When he received no answer, Terebel motioned violently between her and the other Dark Elf. "Kartia tells me that you found another guy and brought him to Rune to show him off like some prideful baroness, which I was inclined not to believe, but now that I come up here and see you clinging to him, I'm finding now that I have to wonder…"

"That's not true; Cruisnik just accompanied me here out of kindness!" Narlafayn exclaimed. Her mouth had dropped open in shock while Terebel spoke; she couldn't believe that he'd find truth in such an obviously fabricated story!

"Amusement, actually. But other than that it's true." Cruisnik stated nonchalantly with a shrug. He held his hands up defensively as Terebel shot him a quick glare before looking back at Narlafayn.

"How can you believe Kartia? She's the one who made us fight in the first place!" Narlafayn shot out this time, finding a proverbial foothold. "How can I not believe that you haven't been really sneaking off to be with her, or some other woman when you go out on these months-long trips?" Her voice choked up as she spoke, she'd never truthfully thought Terebel would do that to her, and the idea had never crossed her mind until that moment.

"That's a good point…" Cruisnik offered thoughtfully.

"Back at you Narlafayn, obviously you're snuggling up with old boyfriends while I'm gone!" Terebel retorted, taking a step towards her.

"She is, I saw her!" Kartia exclaimed. Terebel turned to find Mune and Kartia standing in the entryway behind him, Mune pouting angrily with her arms folded across her chest. Kartia stepped forward with an accusing finger pointed at Narlafayn. "I saw her myself, kissing Deathswalker behind your house!" she said triumphantly, as if calling out a witch to a church committee. There was a moment of intense silence, and Narlafayn was sure the others could hear her heart thudding in her chest.

"Wait, who told you about that, I sure as hell didn't…" Terebel finally stated, his honestly confused tone breaking the intense mood that had fallen over the group. Kartia stumbled slightly on her feet, thrown off by his question. She looked at him with large eyes, and then around to the rest of the group. "M…Mune did of course! And it confirmed what I saw!" Kartia attempted, loosing her confident tone of voice.

"I didn't tell you jack shit; don't try to force me into your lie." Mune growled.

"And what would an Abyssal Celebrant like you, who cherishes all of the old traditions including purity of blood and Dark Elf superiority, be doing in the Elven Village?" Cruisnik asked, grinning at her as she looked at him with the same horrified expression. Terebel put a hand to his forehead and rubbed it, trying to get the current situation straight within his mind.

"Let me get this straight…Kartia, are you trying to sabotage my relationship? Because that's what it seems like right now and if it's true, so help me not even the Abyss will get all of your pieces after I'm through with…"

"I only did it for your own good!" Kartia suddenly exclaimed, interrupting him. She rushed forward and dramatically fell to her knees to cling to his wrist. "An exceptional specimen of Dark Elf like yourself…surely you know our race is stagnating right now…your legacy shouldn't go to waste within the cesspit of a Light Elf…"

"_Half_ Dark Elf." Narlafayn's voice came. A small smile of hope emerged on her face and she chuckled breathlessly as Kartia slowly looked at her, her eyes large and angry. "He's half Dark Elf…didn't you know? His father is Mune's grandfather."

Kartia's head snapped back to look at Terebel, who looked down at her innocently. "I did say she was my niece." He stated with a shrug. "What did you think it was, an endearment? Hells no, I'd rather be as far away from her as possible, she's mean." Kartia stood slowly as he spoke and released his wrist.

"That's not true…" she whispered hoarsely, suddenly looking disgusted with herself. "What that stink speaks is lies…right?" Terebel frowned thoughtfully as he scratched the back of his head for a moment before looking at her with a genuine smile.

"Nope, my dad was a Light Elf." He said cheerfully. Kartia gasped loudly and pressed her hand over her mouth. She then looked at her hand as if it offended her, and then down to the rest of her body. "Yeah…what you said all those years ago when we were younger was true…I'm not full Dark Elf after all." He crossed the balcony to stand in front of Narlafayn, and looked down at her with a soft expression. "That's why I'm not afraid to admit I've fallen in love." He said gently, caressing Narlafayn's face.

"Yep, guess that means you'll have to kill yourself Kartia." Cruisnik stated in an equally cheerful voice. Kartia's response to him was to let out a horrified scream, one that startled apart the nearly embraced couple in front of Cruisnik. They turned to look at her as she did a strange, prancing tantrum dance on the balcony, gripping the spiked decorative crown all Celebrants wore. She calmed herself after a moment, and took a deep breath to regain her haughty composure.

"So tell me Cruisnik D'Arsha, how IS your Sword Maiden these days?" she said with a sneer, smirking as Cruisnik's jovial expression faded. It turned into a glare, and he narrowed his eyes at Kartia.

"Sword Maiden? Wow that's archaic." Terebel stated in mild surprise, looking at Cruisnik. "Are you _that _old?" Kartia gave Terebel a disgusted look before flashing another smirk at Cruisnik and strutting off of the balcony without anything remotely near to a farewell.

"What's a Sword Maiden?" Mune asked curiously. Terebel thought for a moment before shrugging lightly.

"Something that faded before I became a Bladedancer…apparently once upon a time we used to only be able to do our thing properly if our partner, usually a girl with a musical instrument of some sort, would play ancient melodies for us. I'm told I'm one of the first Bladedancers to not need a Sword Maiden, the talent just comes naturally…but to have had one…what are you, nearly 500, Cruisnik?" Terebel finished his story with a question and looked to the Bladedancer behind them, only to find that Cruisnik had slipped away through the entrance on the other side of the balcony.

"Rude can of rotted food." Mune grumbled. She spun on heel and marched out through the doorway from which she'd entered, knowing that Terebel and Narlafayn were surely going to enter the land that only the two of them inhabited in the next moment.

"I'm sorry." Both stated at the same time once Mune was gone. They chuckled at the same time afterwords, and Narlafayn blushed. Smiling softly, Terebel pressed her close and caressed her cheek again before placing his finger beneath her chin to raise her face up so he could kiss her. It was a tender kiss, packed with their emotions that left them breathless as they parted for air.

"Do you find Deathswalker attractive at all?" Terebel asked abruptly as they gazed at each other. Narlafayn frowned in an instant, feeling the mood shatter around her.

"I'm offended that you would ask that." She said in a sour voice. Terebel laughed and hugged her close, trapping her face in a cave made by his arms and chest. He kissed the top of her head before resting his chin upon it.

"Let's get married, then people might stop trying to get between us." He stated casually. Narlafayn froze and pulled away from him with difficulty to look at his face. He grinned at her warmly as she eyed him warily, and kissed her. "I'm serious…I want to be able to pronounce your last name for once." He said jokingly, resting his forehead against hers.

"Eadóchas." She said flatly, lowering her eyelids slightly in an annoyed expression. "You fail for romantic proposals; Cesa would smack you for that." She added. It was Terebel's turn to look at her in annoyance.

"Oh, so you want one of these?" he challenged, pulling away from her. He grabbed her by her wrist and led her off the balcony to the bustling rich residential section of Rune. Narlafayn's eyes widened as he led her towards the church, and she began to resist his pulling.

"What are you doing!" she hissed, feeling as if sheer embarrassment was imminent. To her horror, Terebel burst into the church where a baptismal ceremony was going on, and marched to the center of the sanctuary.

"May I have your attention please; I'll only take a moment!" Terebel called, his voice amplified by the stone walls of the sanctuary. The head Priest frowned at him, still holding the fussing baby that he was in the middle of blessing. The parents of the child looked at Terebel in horror, shocked that the Seal of Gnosis would interrupt an important ceremony. The friends and family of the child getting baptized looked amongst each other in confusion, and the Priests and Priestesses behind the head Priest giggled behind their hands.

"Terebel, don't!" Narlafayn pleaded in a small voice, trying to hide her face with one hand. She covered her eyes as Terebel dropped down to one knee. He reached up to grab her other hand and hold it, making sure she could look at no one but him.

"Narlafayn Ea-doe-case...love of my life…fruit of eternity that I draw life from…the wind upon which I fly, the music to which I dance…"Narlafayn finally broke with his words, and burst into quiet tears, her face red with embarrassment, but heart full despite her efforts at ignoring it. Terebel smiled at the sight of her tears, and caressed the back of her hands with his thumbs. "…could you possibly…find it in your heart…to forgive an imperfect idiot like myself…and become his wife?" There was a traditional tense moment following his question, as if the air had been sucked from the church, even the baby had become silent. The congregation burst out in applause as Narlafayn nodded, and Terebel rose to hug her tightly and kiss her. They exited the church to a chorus of congratulations and happy smiles, the only faces not happy for the newly engaged couple were those of the head Priest and the parents of the baby.

"You realize we just stole the meaning of the day from those parents and their baby, right?" Narlafayn stated more than asked as she and Terebel walked away from the church hand in hand. Terebel stopped walking to look at her in shock; an expression Narlafayn thought was feigned until the Head Priest burst from the church with an angry roar.

"TEREBEL BAHS!" he shouted, storming out. Catching sight of them he shouted triumphantly and began storming towards them, holding up his ceremonial robes like an angry housewife would her skirts.

"Oh shit, run!" Terebel exclaimed, pulling Narlafayn as he dashed into the crowd.


	4. Chapter 3

_Several months later_

"Alright here's how it goes. You stand at the center of the ring; we'll perform the ceremony and then leave you to the deed. Remember, everything must be 'natural.' No bizarre methods of pull out, rear entry or oral. The point of the ceremony is to conceive, even if you don't right away." Calisan rattled off, looking at a sheet of names as he spoke. He sat in Terebel and Narlafayn's living room across from the couple, who stared at him with matching red faces. Terebel was the first to speak after swallowing nervously.

"W…what are we talking about again?" Terebel asked in a small voice. He'd merely asked Calisan about helping prepare for their wedding, and hadn't expected such a strangely lewd response. Calisan looked up at them, confused, as if Terebel's question was foreign.

"Your wedding plans are fine, but since you're from our family, Terebel, you have to partake in the consummation ceremony. It's the only tradition we have, even Lavinia partook in it when she and her Orc were married." Narlafayn's face turned a darker shade of red and she clutched Terebel's hand tighter.

"But…there are trees and bushes around Hunter's Village…" she said in a small voice. Calisan shrugged lightly, dismissing her question as he flipped through the stack of papers in front of him.

"That's for you guys to deal with, not us. You chose Innadril for your wedding spot." He stated in a business-like tone as he compared two different sheets. "Wow, you guys don't know many people. This is going to be a small wedding." He said sadly. He sighed in exasperation as they didn't respond and pulled a pair of small reading glasses from his face. "We'll hold the ceremony in the Field of Whispers then, the reeds are tall enough there to hide couples. Grandpa supposedly conducted an affair with someone out there once, before he and Grandma were married. Just watch out for Crokians, they're nasty." Terebel grimaced as he spoke, and glanced away from his nephew.

"That somehow makes it a little gross…" he said under his breath. Calisan stacked the papers neatly and stood up with a heavy sigh.

"Alright Narlafayn, pack your things, we're going to Cesa's." he announced. Narlafayn stayed where she sat, and looked at him with a blank expression.

"Why?" she asked, gripping Terebel's hand tighter.

"Yeah, why?" he echoed, giving his nephew the same blank face. Calisan shook his head and put a hand to his forehead as if they'd asked him a silly question.

"It's part of the tradition of those who partake in the consummation ceremony; the couple isn't allowed to touch for a week before the wedding. I can't rely on Mune to baby-sit you two, and I sure as heck can't trust you both to keep your hands off of one another, so Narlafayn is going to have to live with Cesa and Celleriant for a week." He said patiently, rubbing his forehead.

"We'll just not have the consummation ceremony then." Terebel decided, frowning. "That's stupid; we shouldn't have to be kept apart." Calisan looked at Terebel from under his hand, and sighed again.

"Then you can't be married. Trust me; every Elf from here to Schuttgart takes this ceremony very seriously. Elves, Dark Elves included, are dying out, we need every ceremony and tradition we have that helps prolong our race. So unless you want to be ostracized by every single Elf in the world, then you'll just follow simple tradition, it's not difficult." He said in an almost spiteful voice. Terebel glared at Calisan and wrapped his arms around Narlafayn protectively. "Fine, don't get married." He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Glarawen didn't go through with the ceremony and she's not ostracized…"Narlafayn said meekly over Terebel's bicep. Calisan gave her a confused look, which Narlafayn echoed curiously.

"Glarawen is the Vessel of Eva, she didn't need a group to perform the ceremony for her; she could call the spirits of nature up on her own." He said with a frown. Narlafayn gave him a shocked look, and Calisan ran a hand through his thick silvery blonde hair. "I take it that you never knew. I can explain it later, lets just get going to Cesa's…" he said, dismissing her surprise with a wave of his hand.

"I won't allow it." Terebel stated stubbornly, holding Narlafayn tighter.

"Terebel…it's just a week…we lasted three years without touching each other, we can last that long…"Narlafayn said in a small voice. Terebel drew away from her slightly to glare down at her, causing her to shrink within herself.

"Yes, and didn't someone say they didn't want to be empty again?" he asked in an almost challenging voice. Narlafayn's face turned red, and Calisan groaned in disgust.

"I can't stand you two; you make me sick with your constant state of touching." Calisan grimaced. "Well whatever. Narla, if you're not coming with me then I have to go tell everyone you're calling off the wedding." He turned away from them and marched towards the door, stack of papers in hand.

"Wait!" Narlafayn called, extracting herself from Terebel's embrace with difficulty. "I'm coming, just give me a minute to pack!"

"Narla!" Terebel exclaimed. Narlafayn paused mid-step to give him a nervous smile.

"I want to get married…a week isn't that long, we'll be fine." She assured him. Terebel growled low in his throat and flung himself against the back of the couch. He folded his arms across his chest and slumped slightly, taking on the posture of a pouting child as he glared at his girlfriend. She put her hands on her hips and returned the glare. "Oh stop it; go kill stuff like you used to if it's going to be that hard." She scolded him.

"Don't wanna." He said childishly, sticking his lower lip out slightly. Narlafayn frowned as they stared at one another, and chewed the inside of her lip. Her eyes lit up as an idea crossed her mind, and she leaned over with a sly smile. Terebel's eyes widened as far as they could go as she whispered in his ear, and Calisan raised his eyebrows in interest as Terebel's face turned the reddest color he'd ever seen to grace a Dark Elf. Satisfied, Narlafayn stood, disappeared into her room for a moment, and re-emerged with her travel pack.

"Ready." She said cheerfully. Calisan glanced between her and Terebel, who sat stiffly on the couch, still staring at the place where she'd vacated with his face red. Narlafayn looked as if she were refreshed by what she'd said to him, while he couldn't tell if Terebel was embarrassed or horrified.

"Is he going to be ok?" he asked, glancing at Terebel again. Narlafayn grinned wickedly and breezed past him as she exited the house.

"He'll be fine, I just made him a promise for later is all." She stated mysteriously as she disappeared around the side of the house. Calisan looked at his uncle warily one last time before shrugging and following Narlafayn towards Cesa's house.

Terebel sat stock still for nearly twenty minutes after Calisan shut the front door in his wake. When his eyes began to sting from lack of moisture he finally blinked, and a wide, dumb grin spread on his face. "I love her." He told the air, and fell over onto his side to fantasize.

* * *

><p>Narlafayn was certain that she would be able to function without Terebel by her side, but by the third day of not being able to be alone with him, she realized she was starving for him. Terebel seemed pleased by this knowledge, and would push her limits the scant seconds they had when Cesa, Calisan or Celleriant's back was turned with a touch or a caress. Cesa seemed to notice her faltering, and made sure that Waverly stayed by the couple at all times, and told him not to leave them until she said come home. The boy latched on happily, as he was always eager to play with his Uncle Terebel. The pair became irritable and cranky as the days wore on, until finally the wedding day arrived, and everyone made their way to Heine.<p>

"Come on, get dressed and let's get this show started." Narlafayn growled, pacing back and forth in the bedroom Ryonai had given her to use as a dressing room. Glarawen, making some last-minute adjustments to her wedding dress, giggled from her spot on the floor.

"Narla, its still morning…the ceremony isn't until this evening at sunset." Lavinia sighed, putting together Narlafayn's bouquet. She cast Cesa a narrow-eyed glance, as her younger sister had abandoned helping her with putting the bouquet together to play with Lavinia's newborn daughter, Amaia. Narlafayn had to admit she was surprised when she saw the newborn, she'd expected the baby to have some sort of green tint to her skin, but Amaia was as pink as any other baby. Lavinia seemed to notice everyone's surprise, and said that Amaia would probably grow into a color of skin more like her father's as she grew up, whether that color be bronze or green.

"Where'd Mune go, anyway? Wasn't she part of the wedding party?" Vuylay asked, sitting at an ornately decorated desk against the wall. She held one of her twins (Narlafayn still couldn't tell them apart), who fussed as she bounced them gently. Lavinia and Cesa glanced at each other with their mouths set in thin lines, and returned to what had gained their attention.

"Mune doesn't want to see Evzen, so she took off somewhere to train." Narlafayn stated bitterly, sitting down heavily on the bed. Lavinia made an unhappy noise and put her hand on the flowers that threatened to topple off the bed with Narlafayn's movement, and frowned at the cranky Temple Knight. Vuylay tsked bitterly, and looked down at her son.

"What'd that guy do to her anyway, other than be a Dark Elf?" she mumbled, caressing Ren's cheek with her finger. Again Lavinia and Cesa glanced at each other, and Glarawen giggled.

"He fell for her." Lavinia answered this time. When Vuylay gave a confused look, Lavinia continued; "Mune's got a complex…somewhere growing up she decided that she could never get a guy's attention, and any one that did show her affection other than family just wanted something from her. I think someone hurt her badly growing up, but the fool never talks about what bothers her, so we never knew." Lavinia sighed and inspected the bouquet with a trained flower-arranging eye. "She thinks Evzen is just going to hurt her in the end, so she's got it in her head that she needs to hurt him first before that happens. Her logic is twisted; I can't even figure it out."

"Hurt her? That guy can't even punish criminals in his own city let alone hurt the woman he cares about!" Vuylay exclaimed. Narlafayn raised an eyebrow as she looked at her friend, confused by her reaction. Realizing she'd exploded, Vuylay looked away from Narlafayn with a blush. "He's been speaking with Ryonai's niece since he arrived…I don't think its right." She said in a low voice, pouting slightly.

"He's been speaking with Linit? What's wrong with that?" Cesa asked brightly. Amaia smacked her lips in response, and suckled on the finger Cesa had left near her face. Linit was Ryonai's niece, daughter of his eldest brother whom he hadn't seen since he was a boy on Talking Island. Linit had been horribly abused her entire life, as her mother had left Ryonai's brother before Linit had been born. Linit was of strange ancestry, and seemed to pull genetics from Orcs, Dark Elves and Dwarves as well as human. Her mother had been killed in the war against Elmore, and Ryonai instantly had the girl move in with him and the rest of the Ladd family in Innadril Castle.

"She's twelve years old, Cesa, that's what's wrong with it." Vuylay snapped. She sighed in disgust, and glared at the wall next to her. "Evzen's too nice and Linit is too damaged…she had to mature way before her time. I don't like how she's giving him those star-struck gazes already…and the stupid man doesn't even see it." She sighed again, and stood. "Maybe in five years I won't feel so bad about her making those eyes at him, but right now it needs to end. Excuse me; I'm going to go give Ren to his nanny for his nap." She left with a swirl and rustle of dress, making sure to shut the door firmly in her wake.

"Poor Mune." Glarawen said, her voice breaking the silence that had descended upon the room. The gazes of three pairs of eyes came to rest on her, but she didn't seem to notice and continued stitching the hem of Narlafayn's gown. "She really does like Evzen, but she's going to miss her chance and get her heart broken if she doesn't come to terms with it." She said sadly. There was a collective blink of surprise from the women around her. Glarawen rarely spoke of serious matters, but when she did, it was always sensible and wise.

The guests began to arrive in the afternoon, and were greeted and seated by Zaren and Terebel. Not trusting them to even look at each other, Narlafayn was confined to her dressing room, where Terebel was not allowed to even breathe in the direction of.

Many people that they hadn't seen for a year arrived to the wedding, and even some new acquaintances came. Gatz arrived with a very pregnant Sharmin, who carried with her a letter of apology from Komugi and Zaken. The two had taken up piracy again, and couldn't be seen on the mainland. Amari snuck in past Ryonai, and seated himself on the groom's side in an attempt to hide, but the eagle eyes of the Lord of Innadril found him in a second. Ryonai slipped into the seating row and sat down next to Amari, causing the Spellhowler to yelp in surprise as he unexpectedly found his clan leader sitting next to him. Ryonai then dragged him off to a side room, where it was jokingly said he was putting Amari to work.

Sprissa and Broud arrived next, followed by Koyori and Shana, whom was escorted by Spore Pixie. The rest of the Pixie brood including Junk Pixie followed, all surprisingly calm and polite for the Dwarves. Leon arrived with Sir Collin, Tithania and Dasniall, and the rest of Haibane followed suit. Narlafayn had even extended an invitation to the members of the clan Wrath of Sorrow, who arrived and shyly took a seat on the side of the bride. A gaggle of women that Terebel had courted in the past invited themselves to the event, and sat on the groom's side sobbing daintily into embroidered handkerchiefs. The only known past fling that wasn't present was Kartia. Vlad was also missing from the event, and Amari sadly admitted he couldn't locate his brother despite the trail of corpses that he left in his wake.

Terebel had asked Evzen to be his best man, as the only other male he was really close to was Ryonai, but he was officiating the marriage. The Lord of Schuttgart stood at his designated spot to the left of Ryonai's throne, and kept scanning the faces seated in the audience. He sighed heavily and let his shoulders droop slightly as the one face he sought was not there, and tried to turn his attention elsewhere.

"Are you nervous?" Ryonai asked as Terebel finished greeting guests and took his spot in front of him. The Bladedancer took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and adjusted the jacket of his suit.

"Never been better." He stated sarcastically. "I hate socializing." He added under his breath. Ryonai chuckled and patted Terebel in an assuring gesture.

"Don't worry, putting up with all of this pays off later." He said with a wicked gleam in his eye.

"For you it probably did." Terebel muttered, glancing towards the doors nervously. A hush spread over the crowd and there was a collective rumble as they all turned at the same time as the doors to the inner castle opened. Terebel stood up straight, his heart thudding in his chest; it was time.

First to march down the isle wearing a gown that was made up of a tight bodice and arm-hugging sleeves with a long flowing dress that trailed the ground was Vuylay. A simple white fragrant flower that grew in abundance in Innadril was the only decoration she wore behind her ear, a tiny bouquet of the same which she carried. Behind her came Cesa and Lavinia, wearing dresses similar in style to hers, only shorter and with short sleeves. The crowd stood as the next figure darkened the entry way, and Terebel swallowed audibly.

Smiling brightly even though she looked as if she were going to cry tears of joy, Narlafayn entered the inner castle. Her gown was a shimmering white with a square neckline and puffed sleeves that extended into long, floor-length filmy sleeves. A purple satin rope was tied around her waist and dangled to nearly the ground, and her dress swam around her as if she were stepping through water. Her hair was piled on top of her head and decorated with wisteria, her bouquet filled with beautiful silver, white, pink and purple flowers of the same kind that Terebel had once left her while she hid in the house on Windy Hill. Glarawen joined her and linked arms with her; she was Narlafayn's only family in this world and was there to give her away. She wore a dress identical to Vuylay's, only pink flowers decorated her hair and bouquet.

Terebel's lips parted in wonder as she was slowly escorted down the aisle to him, even Evzen and Ryonai seemed to be taken by her beauty. Frowning in jealousy, Vuylay scooted closer to Ryonai to pinch him. The shock of pain caused him to shut his mouth, which he hadn't realized had dropped open. He, like many others in the congregation couldn't believe that this was the tomboyish Light Elf from another world they'd grown fond of over the years.

Glarawen reached out and took Terebel's hand as she approached, and linked it with Narlafayn's. Her eyes swam with tears as she silently gave him her blessing, and she took the seat traditionally saved for the mother of the bride. She felt as happy as a mother would at that moment, the frightened woman she'd taken in years before had grown up before her eyes and had done so much…it seemed like her life with Narlafayn was so long ago now.

"No kissing yet." Ryonai whispered as Terebel gazed at Narlafayn with a glazed expression. Terebel blinked and looked up at Ryonai with a dopey grin, and Narlafayn blushed and giggled.

"You look…so beautiful." Terebel breathed, returning his gaze to his bride. Narlafayn blushed an even deeper shade of crimson and looked away from him bashfully. Smiling at the glowing pair in front of him, Ryonai began his carefully memorized speech, his voice echoing throughout the throne room.

Narlafayn looked at the faces of the people gathered there to watch her wedding, and remembered the time when she stood in Vuylay's place to the right of the throne, witnessing Glarawen and Arvalo's wedding. Her eyes drifted to the spot where the mysterious Dark Elf stood during the wedding, his gaze intense and penetrating when he met her eyes. Her heart pounded with the memory, and she looked up into Terebel's face. He was before her now, her mysterious Dark Elf…and she was going to be with him the rest of her life. She smiled as his gaze was anything but intense and penetrating now, and blushed as she knew it would become that way once they were alone together.

The faces of those in the congregation (save Terebel's ex-girlfriends) were shining with happiness. They all silently agreed that there'd never been a couple more perfect for one another. The pair had affected each and every one of their lives in some way; it was only right that now they get their time of happiness.

"Terebel, do you have anything you'd like to say to your bride?" Ryonai asked, drawing Terebel's attention away from Narlafayn's face. He blinked at Ryonai cluelessly for a moment before his words kicked in. He swallowed and cleared his throat, and looked back down at her with a nod.

"Narla…I had a big flowery speech that Mr. Poetic behind me helped me work on…but I seem to have forgotten every word of it but the last." Terebel began with a nervous chuckle.

"I can recite it for you…" Evzen offered in a loud whisper. Terebel ignored him and held Narlafayn's hands to his mouth where he kissed them.

"…so instead of a flowery speech I'll just try to suck up my embarrassment and spout what comes to mind first." He said, grinning. He took a breath and shut his eyes to compose himself, and then opened them again. "You…are so beautiful. Ever since the beginning I've loved you…even though I was too stupid to realize it then. You're my breath of life, you're what keeps me going when I don't want to fight any more…"he swallowed again before continuing, his voice coming out shaky with suppressed tears; "…I couldn't imagine living without you, ever…even when we fight. Life without you isn't a life…it's a living death." Tears dripped from Narlafayn's eyes as he spoke, and she sniffled loudly.

"Do you take her as your wife, Terebel Bahs?" Ryonai asked in a somber voice, staring hard at the Dark Elf. Terebel nodded and murmured his answer, trying to hide his face from the crowd so they couldn't see the tears there. Smiling broadly, Ryonai looked to Narlafayn next. "Narlafayn, do you have anything you'd like to say to your groom?" Narlafayn took a breath and bravely raised her head to face Terebel.

"You've taken all the words I wanted to say." She said with a laugh, her voice thick. "I don't ever want you away from my side…don't ever leave me." Terebel raised his head enough to look at her, a warm smile on his face. "You're everything to me…you're my heart, my happiness. We are one and the same, what you feel I feel…our souls are one." She reached a hand up to caress his cheek, and sniffled. "I love you with everything I am." He pressed her hand to his face tightly and sobbed softly as well, and shut his eyes.

"Do you take him as your husband, Narlafayn Eadóchas?" Ryonai asked, still smiling. Narlafayn nodded and spoke her answer, her heart thudding as she knew the end was near. Ryonai gazed over the crowd, who looked at him in pensive silence, waiting for him to say the words they'd been waiting to hear. "Then by the grace of Einhasad or whatever gods are smiling upon us today, I, Ryonai Ladd-Innadril hereby introduce the congregation to Terebel and Narlafayn Bahs." He grinned at the couple in front of him, and held out his hand. "You may kiss." He said.

As if he'd been waiting for those words, Terebel snatched Narlafayn before she had a chance to even blink, and pressed her close in a desperate kiss. She returned it with equal gusto, barely hearing the sounds of the congregation as they cheered. As it had happened for Glarawen's wedding, those paired around them found their own partner to kiss, Vuylay snatching Ryonai as quickly as she could, and Arvalo and Glarawen sharing in a shy one behind Glarawen's bouquet. Even Iris grabbed Waverly's face and planted a sloppy child-kiss on his cheek. The boy promptly shouted his disgust over being touched by a girl, and raced out of the throne room as fast as his legs could carry him. Finding the game to be fun, Iris toddled after him, squealing and giggling in delight.

"Alright you two, save some for later." Calisan called from his seat next to Koyori. He'd slipped into the audience late, having been in the Field of Whispers preparing an area for the consummation ceremony. It would take place when the moon rose, but if someone didn't get control over Terebel and Narlafayn now; they'd have to have an impromptu ceremony right in front of their friends.

"Narlafayn!" Cesa hissed, tugging on her arm. Frowning as they didn't respond and continued kissing, Cesa looked around thoughtfully, her face lighting up as an idea formed. Cackling evilly, she disappeared from Narlafayn's side and melted into the crowd.

Suddenly feeling a pair of eyes upon them, Narlafayn and Terebel paused mid-kiss and opened their eyes. Standing in front of them, looking up at them with wide, curious eyes full of wonder and his mouth open slightly was Waverly. They slowly parted to stare at him, and he stared back as if they'd been doing something foreign. The mood was ruined for them immediately, and they broke apart.

"My beloved tree goddess…you really have an evil streak…" Celleriant murmured in Cesa's ear as she came to stand behind Narlafayn again. She smiled bashfully and put a hand to her cheek in mock embarrassment. The crowd cheered again as the pair separated, and stood from their seats to gather around and congratulate them.

"Throw your bouquet!" Mama Pixie shouted from somewhere in the crowd. Narlafayn's face lit up and she laughed, embarrassed that she'd almost forgotten about that tradition. She stood higher on the throne pedestal, and turned her back to the crowd. Girls surged forward, their hands appearing above their heads in anticipation.

"OO!" Vuylay exclaimed, gathering up her dress to push her way into the crowd. Ryonai caught her arm and pulled her back.

"Not so fast, unmarried females only." He said, rolling his eyes as she looked at him with a mournful pout.

"But Glarawen is in there!" she tattled like a child, pointing a finger at the Elven Elder. Noticing that she'd been found, Glarawen grinned mischievously and inched her way out of the crowd. Midget of Plenty's face appeared higher than the rest as Plenty of Midget raised her up on his shoulders, and she eagerly groped the air for the bouquet that hadn't yet been tossed.

"Ready?" Narlafayn called, glancing over her shoulder. There was a chorus of excited assents, and Narlafayn laughed. Koyori could be seen at the middle of the group, elbowing others out of her way as she tried to get what she presumed to be the best spot to catch the bouquet from. Narlafayn silenced the clamoring girls by counting down, and then threw the bouquet as hard as she could over her head. There was a scuffle as the girls tried to judge where it would land, the others on the sidelines laughing as they stumbled over one another. There was a collective gasp of surprise as the bouquet made a soft noise as it landed in an outstretched hand. Narlafayn turned as the crowd parted to reveal a very aghast Mune, holding the bouquet with a confused look on her face.

"Mune…" Evzen breathed, his eyes large. She was still dressed in her armor, and looked around at the angry female faces gathering near her. Mune had just entered the throne room thinking the ceremony was finally over, only to find a bundle of flowers flying at her head. Thinking she was under attack she'd caught it, and it took her three full minutes to realize what it symbolized.

"Oooh, Mune's going to get married next." Lavinia called over the group. Still standing next to Terebel, Evzen's face turned red, and he looked away from her, suddenly uncomfortable.

"What? No!" Mune exclaimed, backing away from the angry girls in front of her. Looking around desperately, she spied a couple near the back of the throne room, and tossed the bouquet at them. The shortest of the pair caught it in surprise as Mune dashed out of the throne room.

Sharmin took a step forward with an unreadable expression as the shortest of the pair looked at the bouquet in wonder. The pair wore ragged brown traveler's cloaks over their shoulders, and bronze masks sculpted into serene looking faces. The shorter of the pair had thick, wavy pink hair, and the taller had long blonde hair.

"Komugi?" Sharmin said in a tiny voice. Komugi looked up at her sister at the sound of her voice and removed her mask to reveal a grinning face behind it. Leon stood as she revealed herself; he'd been given an order by the King of Aden himself to find and detain her. Sir Collin reached out and put a hand on the paladin's arm, and shook his head as Leon glanced at him.

"Not at a wedding." He said in a low voice with a smile. Leon sat back down uncertainly, and tried to relax despite his sense of duty singing in his veins.

"I'm getting married next!" Komugi exclaimed, looking up to Zaken with shining eyes. He was still wearing his mask, but the group got the distinct feeling that he was grimacing behind it.

"Little Fool, I don't think it counts after someone else catches it." Zaken murmured, his voice muffled by the mask. Komugi ignored him and happily snuggled the bouquet with a satisfied giggle.

"Komugi Kerr! Give me that!" Koyori shouted, stomping through the crowd. Komugi clutched it tightly to her chest and stuck her tongue out at Koyori.

"Not on your life!" she shouted nastily. "Come on Zaken, we should fly." She added, glancing at Sir Collin and Leon. "Congratulations on finally getting married!" she called, waving to everyone. "Oh, and Sharmin, I'm going to come spoil that baby you're full of right now, so you'd better be as mean as you can to it so I'm the cool aunt." She grinned. She grabbed Zaken's arm and flew out of the throne room. Everyone was stunned into silence for a moment with her departure, finally moving again when they heard a strange humming noise outside. The entire church rushed out of the throne room and inner castle to the courtyard in one great mass, collectively making noises of surprise and wonder as they exited. Komugi and Zaken were dangling from a ladder that was attached to a strange ship that had a giant balloon for a mast, and a giant spinning propeller for a rudder. A flag of a skull crossed with a rapier and a rose flew from one of the tethers tying the balloon to the ship, marking it as a vessel for piracy. Narlafayn and Terebel stared up at it in wonder with the rest, and then looked at each other and laughed.

"I think she's stolen the spotlight from us." Terebel laughed, hugging Narlafayn. The crowd around them began to call and wave, excited to see this piece of Giant's technology restored.

"Karma for your proposal I suppose." She giggled, hugging him back.

The wedding reception followed in the grand banquet hall of the castle, after everyone had calmed from the excitement of seeing Komugi the Sky Pirate's exit. Presents were given to the new couple, congratulations exchanged, and hints of lewd behavior jokingly tossed to them. They received everything with smiles, and listened to everyone's speeches of the past during dinner.

As the moon rose, Ryonai ushered everyone to town, where they would take a cruise on the pleasure boat and continue the party there. It was a clever diversion on his part to give the bride and groom privacy while they took part in the consummation ceremony. Many who knew what the ceremony meant, snickered amongst themselves and cast the couple sly smiles before joining the rest of the crowd in Heine. Soon only Terebel and Narlafayn were left with Calisan, Lavinia, Cesa, Mune and Glarawen, and all were suddenly feeling very awkward.

"Well, it's now or never, might as well give them enough time to go and enjoy the rest of their reception." Mune grumbled, stalking away from the group and towards the Field of Whispers. They'd seen the wedding party to Heine, and had gathered at the north gate to stare awkwardly at each other.

"Yeah right, knowing them they'll be out there all night." Lavinia mumbled as she followed after her sister. Terebel and Narlafayn both melted into identical nervous smiles as she passed them, knowing in their heart of hearts, she was probably right.

"Goodness, should we bring blankets then? It wouldn't be very fun if they started the next day with colds!" Glarawen wondered cheerfully, passing them next with a thoughtful finger on her chin. The nervous smiles grew on Terebel and Narlafayn's faces, this time accompanied by a definite feeling of embarrassment.

"Well, go on. The sooner you get to the spot the sooner we can do our thing and then let you get to yours. It's quick and painless, I promise." Calisan stated, shooing them across the bridge that connected the floating city with land.

"You're just a voyeur." Mune muttered under her breath. Cesa giggled shrilly at this, and Calisan didn't hesitate to smack his sister upside her head.

The group tromped through the marshlands, Narlafayn wincing as the warm seawater that had pooled in small ponds all over the Field soaked into the hem of her dress despite her best efforts at keeping it high. She sighed and gave up hopes of keeping the dress pristine as Calisan led them through yet another pond, and let her dress drop into the water. Terebel gave her a mournful look, and Narlafayn smiled sheepishly.

"All right, here we are." Calisan announced nearly a half hour later. He'd led them to the base of a rocky hill, in between strange stone towers that once had religious meaning centuries before. Narlafayn looked at area in which they stood in disdain, distressed that there were no reeds here. "Don't worry, you guys don't have to stay here all night, we just can't perform the ceremony if our legs are getting tangled in the plants." Calisan said in an even voice, glaring at the sky for strength.

"You guys stand here like this." Cesa directed, positioning Terebel and Narlafayn at the center of the ring of towers. She then had them face each other and hold hands. Satisfied, she giggled and clapped to herself, and then joined her siblings.

"Alright, confining items off." Calisan said in a commanding voice. Both Terebel and Narlafayn's eyes widened as the Elves, including Mune, began to strip. Weapons, armor and formal clothing was deposited in neat piles at the base of the rocky hill, and those that had been wearing them formed a wide circle around the couple. They had stripped down to thin shirts, skirts and pants that left the arms, legs and torso naked save for enough fabric to cover the indecent bits. Narlafayn's lips parted in surprise; she couldn't recall anyone ever looking as…well, Elfy, as those surrounding her did at that moment.

The group knelt for a moment, each with their hands on the ground and their eyes shut, as if feeling the earth for movement. Calisan spoke something in a language Terebel had come to recognize as ancient Elfish, one that he was still trying to learn for the purpose of his resealing ceremony. The girls repeated his phrase, and then they stood.

A strange feeling descended over Terebel and Narlafayn as the group began to dance around them. They suddenly felt everything clearer…the wind, the water…the sigh of the earth. The moon above was filling them with an energy that Narlafayn had never felt before, and she lifted her face to bask in it.

Terebel watched as his family and Glarawen danced a strange, elfish twirling dance. They were light on their toes, and he almost swore he saw the spirits of nature dancing along side them. His breath came quicker as their dancing grew more intense, and he returned his gaze to Narlafayn. The sight of her basking in the moonlight caused his mouth to dry up, and he swallowed with difficulty.

"Narla…I'm not sure if I'm making sense, but this thing is really disturbing but yet I find myself strangely aroused by it at the same time." He said in a low voice, glancing over his shoulder as they danced past him. Narlafayn slowly lowered her face to look at him, and opened her eyes lazily. She felt drunk yet sober; every fiber of her being was alive and could feel everything around her. Even her hair could feel the gentle caress of the wind, and it was causing feelings she never thought she'd feel just from the wind blowing.

"I need you." She breathed, drawing in close to him and putting her hands on his cheeks. Terebel drew close to her and lowered his mouth to hers, but it was as if a wall as wide as a hand had come between them, and they could not touch their lips together.

"Why can't I kiss you?" he asked in a hoarse voice, a frustrated expression knitting his brow together. He pressed her body close to his instead, and she arched her neck to moan. He shuddered at the sound and fell over her shoulder, holding her close as what she felt began to course through him as well. It was as if they were making love, yet their bodies were not merged as one.

"They're responding well." Lavinia's voice came as she twirled past them.

"Quicker than normal." Mune stated curiously next.

"That's to be expected with those two." Glarawen giggled. Terebel panted lightly over Narlafayn's shoulder, and raised his head to look at the dancers.

"Why can't I touch her more than this?" he growled, his voice taking on the edge of a thirsting man restrained from a well in front of him. "Is this the ceremony? You guys use ancient hocus pocus to watch us suffer?" Narlafayn pulled away from him with difficulty and shivered despite herself. His eyes had taken on the intensity they'd had the first time they'd had each other. She gently guided his face to hers, and pressed their foreheads together since they still could not kiss. Terebel's lips parted slightly as he breathed, and felt as if the air had been robbed from them.

"It's all part of the ceremony…it all has meaning, trust me." Calisan said in a kinder voice. He paused in dancing to smile at Terebel from behind Narlafayn, ignoring the hateful glare his uncle was giving him. "Look at how your woman glows, Terebel. You will have children from this union." He said with a proud smile. Curious despite his frustration, Terebel pulled away from Narlafayn (who seemed completely disconnected with the world) to look at her. Sure enough, it was as if starlight had attached itself to her contours and to strands of her hair. She sparkled and shimmered as if sprinkled with fairy dust…a phenomenon that Terebel had never seen before. Indeed, no one in the group had seen such a thing either…the last recorded time a consummation ceremony actually worked right away was centuries before any of their times.

"I think we've done enough, he's going to rip us apart if we don't give them some space." Lavinia laughed as Terebel returned to glaring at them. Her laughter was refreshing, and the others joined in as well. The group felt as if they had suddenly become a part of their ancestry, during the time when the Dark Elves were still brown, and the world was peaceful. Without another word they gathered their things and retreated from the pair, leaving them to what would come naturally next.

The stardust held its place on Narlafayn's body for moments after the group had departed, and then fled like fireflies shaken from a bush. She drew in a gasping breath as it detached itself from her body and collapsed against Terebel's chest, weakened by the affect of the magic from their dance. He grabbed her face as she drew in another breath, and kissed her as hard as he could. It took Narlafayn a moment to regain her senses, but she returned the kiss with equal fervor. They parted only to look at their hands as they undressed each other, trying to rip the confining layers from their bodies as fast as they could.

They made love among the reeds, under the moonlight, the only sounds that of their joining, and the gentle slosh of marsh water as the breeze tickled it's surface. Narlafayn was afraid; was Calisan's prophesy true? Would they truly conceive a child? Was she ready for it?

Her worries faded as Terebel breathed his claim of her. She was his woman; he would not abandon her, he would not let her face anything alone from now on. She had claimed his heart, he would never know another. These feelings exploded within her and she cried out, feeling dominant and dominated all at once. Terebel was hers, just as she his.

They were both slick with sweat, but neither cared at that moment. They were complete, and they were satisfied. Narlafayn sighed happily and hugged him, caressing his back with her hands. She blushed as her fingers danced over raised welts in his skin-she'd scratched him during her climax without realizing it. She wondered if he could feel them yet.

"Maybe we should have a consummation ceremony once a month…"he finally said after a stretch of silence. Narlafayn giggled and cuddled him to her body, trying to enjoy his weight for even a moment longer.

"I think it would kill one of us to have that more than once in our lives." She said with a laugh. Terebel echoed it, and then pushed himself off of her with effort. She rolled onto her side and clung to him as soon as he was settled on his back, and he wrapped an arm across her shoulders.

"Yeah…you're probably right." He chuckled, caressing her shoulder. Both let silence overcome them then, and gazed up to the stars above them. A lot had happened to them…but they would never be parted again.


	5. Chapter 4

_The present_

Mune tromped across the bridge into the village, glaring at the sentinels stationed at the entrance. They raised their eyebrows and glanced at one another, but said nothing to her as she passed. She made her way to the Temple of Eva first, to drop off a stack of letters the Elven Hierarch stationed in Rune had sent back with her. The Hierarch was in a conference with an ambassador from the Dark Elven village when she entered however, so she exited the temple to stand on the balcony overlooking the forest. Below her, in the meadow around the lake the Village floated over, Celleriant was teaching a small group of Elven children including Waverly, the basics of swordplay. Iris, now eight years old, sat nearby with a group of her giggling friends, paying more attention to playing with each other's hair rather than to Celleriant. Relaxing against the side of the temple, Mune sat upon the railing of the balcony and folded her arms across her chest as she watched her brother-in-law and continued reminiscing.

Sure enough, as Calisan had predicted, Narlafayn became pregnant after the ceremony. It was a shock on her system at first; she seemed terrified of the prospect of carrying a child within her even though she desired one with Terebel. It took many talks from the others whom had had children before her, before she settled out of her hysteria and into the mode of expectant mother. Sharmin had supposedly admitted to being afraid throughout her entire pregnancy before she gave birth to her son. She said that once you begin caring for them however, the fear fades. Personally, Mune couldn't figure out how fear would fade with Sharmin's baby. Ashland Windawood was possibly the ugliest little thing she'd ever seen in her entire life. He had the round face of a pig, and was super chubby for any baby she'd ever seen. She hoped for the sake of the Windawood name his looks would improve with age.

Life was good for everyone during the nine months of Narlafayn's pregnancy. However, fate seemed to always have a knife ready to stab Terebel and Narlafayn in the back. It seemed uncanny to Mune how when bad luck would strike that pair, it would be the most horrible, depressing kind possible.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Part 2-**_

_In which Mune reminisces Terebel and Narlafayn's continued bad luck_

"Narla, you have to work with me, or we're going to have to cut you open." Cesa commanded sternly. She was poised on the floor at the end of the bed, trying to coach Narlafayn through her labor. Lavinia sat next to her with medical supplies, and held a clean white towel, waiting for the baby that was trying to escape from Narlafayn's body. Glarawen and Vuylay sat on either side of Narlafayn, holding her hands tightly.

"Then cut me open, just make this damn pain stop!" Narlafayn growled, throwing her head back against the pillows she was propped up against. Terebel had been shooed from the room by the women as Narlafayn began throwing hateful curses in his direction, maddened with pain to the point of hating her husband for getting her pregnant.

This labor was unusually difficult; several times the combined efforts of Cesa, Glarawen and Vuylay had to put a stop to intense bleeding from Narlafayn's womb. Cesa worried for the health of the child by this point, and prayed to Eva that it was still alive. She wondered if the Hammer of Despair, still sealed within Narlafayn, was causing the trouble with delivering the baby, and she silently cursed it.

Terebel paced outside of the delivery room nervously, an expression akin to one close to tears crossing his face every time he heard her scream. It hurt him to hear her in so much pain, and left him feeling helpless as he could do nothing to help ease her of it. Her angry words had stung him too, but Oonugh assured him that Lavinia went through a similar set of insults when Amaia was born.

Watching the nervous father-to-be was Ryonai, Celleriant and Oonugh. They said nothing as Terebel paced, knowing that anything they'd say would be shrugged off angrily, or challenged. Terebel's nerves were so on edge that he snapped at Celleriant when the Elf offered him a glass of water. The trio followed his movements, their heads moving as he walked back and forth across the floor.

The delivery room that Narlafayn was currently in agony within was inside of the Temple of Eva. As a rule, babies were born within the Temple so they could be born with the grace of Eva from the very beginning. The room was below the main temple room, and Ryonai idly wondered what the parishioners above them thought of the screaming. He snickered with this, and recovered a somber face quickly as Terebel cast him a hateful glare.

There was one final, agonized scream from the delivery room, and then silence. Terebel stopped pacing and stared hard at the door with the men, their ears trying to pick up the sounds that should come next; a baby's healthy cry. The seconds ticked by into a minute, and Terebel began to shiver nervously.

"Oonugh!" Lavinia cried. Eyes large, Oonugh stood up from his seat and hurried into the room. Terebel attempted to follow, but the Orc put a hand on his chest to stop him, and shut the door before he could enter. His eyes widened in fear as he caught sight of a blood-soaked sheet for a second before the white bleached wood of the door encompassed all of his vision.

"They can't shut me out!" he exclaimed, reaching for the doorknob. Ryonai put a hand on his arm next, and pulled Terebel's hand from the door. With a growl, Terebel turned on the Paladin Lord, and grabbed him by his collar.

"Something's going on that they obviously don't want you seeing yet." Ryonai stated in a pained voice as Terebel slammed him angrily against the wall. "They don't want you freaking out in there, just try to stay calm and wait for some news." Terebel's lip curled as he growled softly at Ryonai, and then slowly released him as his words penetrated his anxiety. He stumbled away from him until his back hit the wall opposite of him, and slid to the ground. Ryonai leaned over slightly and rubbed his throat where Terebel's knuckles had dug into the skin.

"It'll be all right, sometimes the baby doesn't want to breathe right away after a long labor. Glarawen told Cesa that Iris had been like that when she was born." Celleriant offered in a meek voice. Both Terebel and Ryonai gave the Swordsinger a look that caused him to shrink within himself. "I mean…that possibly can't be what's wrong with your kid…I mean…" his voice shrank with every word, and he tried to curl himself up as tiny as he could to hide from their glares.

Ten minutes later, all three men surged to their feet as the doorknob turned. The top of Glarawen's head appeared down to the bridge of her nose as she peeked through the crack she'd opened in the door. Her eyes crinkled as she grinned, and the door shut fully once before opening again enough to allow her to slip out.

"What happened?" Terebel asked, taking a step towards the Elder. "Why hasn't the baby cried? Is it ok? Is Narlafayn ok?" Glarawen glanced away from Terebel, her smile fading slightly as she visibly thought over her words, and then looked back with a smile.

"They're both ok. You can go in and see them now." She said, her voice quivering with an unidentifiable emotion. Terebel pushed past her in an instant and entered the delivery room as fast as he could. The scene he expected as he glanced around; Narlafayn sitting up in bed happily to greet him while holding their child, was not what he saw. Instead he saw piles of bloody sheets, and Vuylay sat in a chair by the window rocking his child while Lavinia and Cesa cooed over it. Narlafayn was stretched out in the bed, her eyes shut and face deathly pale. His heart clenched in his chest as he saw her; she almost looked dead.

"What happened in here?" he asked loudly. Oonugh stood by the door with his eyes shut, as if resting after intense stress. Cesa raised a finger to her lips to shush him with a frown, and then sighed as Narlafayn let out a soft groan and stirred. She sighed bitterly and shook her head before standing and taking Terebel by the arm to lead him to the farthest corner away from Narlafayn's bed that she could.

"Keep your voice down; Vuylay's sleep spell just finally took effect." She whispered, glancing at Narlafayn over her shoulder. "Don't worry, they'll both be fine." She added hastily as he gave her a horrified look.

"Both you and Glarawen have said that now, but it doesn't feel like that." He whispered angrily, glaring at his pink-haired niece. Cesa sighed and looked down to her feet, which she shifted nervously.

"There was…some complications with the delivery." She began slowly, her voice a little louder than a whisper. She took a breath and then met his eyes bravely. "Somehow your son's leg was fused with the wall of Narlafayn's womb…her insides started coming out when the baby did." She swallowed and motioned to Oonugh. "Lavinia called him in to help put her back together. He's the only one among those of you out there who's had experience with crude surgery before."

"What…what are you telling me?" Terebel asked, his mouth suddenly dry. Cesa gave him a sympathetic look and sighed again.

"With how we had to cut the womb to get your baby's leg free, Narla won't be able to have any more babies for a long, long time…if at all." She said, her eyes shimmering as tears began to form. "I'm so sorry…even if you didn't plan on having more than one…I know this isn't the kind of news you want to be hearing…"she added as Terebel covered his face with his hands. He slowly slid them from his face with his own sigh, and tried to compose himself.

"I…have a son?" he asked, changing the subject. Cesa's mournful look brightened, and she nodded vigorously. "Does he…um…who does he look like?" he asked nervously. Cesa smiled, and took him by his hand.

"Come look at him yourself, silly. He didn't cry for some reason, but he's healthy as can be…it's just…well…"she let her sentence trail off, and a new panic entered Terebel's chest. How much more could've gone wrong in the two hours she was in here? Cesa extracted the baby from Vuylay's arms and placed him in Terebel's arms. "Here you go, meet your daddy little one." She said in a motherly voice. Terebel looked at her in bewilderment before looking down at his son.

The baby nestled in his arms wasn't a ruddy color most newborns were; instead he was a creamy sort of pink. It was to be expected, Terebel knew, as his gray skin wouldn't allow for any genetics of any other color. His throat tightened as he gazed at his son's face for the first time, and he blinked hard against tears. He shifted the baby to hold him better, and looked up to Cesa with the smile of a new father.

"Aw, I wonder if Ryonai looked that cute when he was presented with my babies." Vuylay chided with a grin.

"I hear he passed out when the bishop brought out two." The rumble of Oonugh's voice came from across the room. Lavinia and Cesa giggled, and Vuylay shook her head.

"That sounds like him." She muttered, shutting her eyes into a thin line.

"I have a son." Terebel said carefully, as if he couldn't believe it. Cesa nodded, her previous look of discomfort only a memory now. Terebel laughed once in wonder, and caressed the baby's cheek with a finger. "Hey there little guy…wake up…I want to meet you." Terebel said softly. The baby fussed slightly, and then opened his eyes. Terebel's smile faded slightly as he saw his son's eyes for the first time, and understood instantly why Cesa said what she had as she led him to the baby. Most baby's eyes were a dark, deep blue at birth, but one of his son's eyes was very much, very distinctly red. Terebel looked up at the women, but said nothing. A soft knock on the door interrupted them, and Glarawen poked her head inside once more.

"Sorry to disturb you at such a tender moment, but there's quite a crowd gathering in the hall…they want to meet the new arrival." She said cheerfully. Terebel looked back to Cesa and Lavinia, and shifted his hold on the baby again.

"Can I…take him out?" he asked dumbly, still too stunned to remember how to think for himself.

"Why are you asking us?" Vuylay asked with a frown. "But at least name him first." She added. Terebel glanced at the ceiling as he thought. A grin split his face as an idea came to his mind, and he looked down at his son.

"Horribel!" he announced proudly.

"Not on your life." Narlafayn's voice came from the bed. Everyone turned their heads to look at her, and found her struggling to sit up.

"Narla, why are you awake?" Cesa fussed, rushing over to her bedside to try and convince her to lie back down. Narlafayn shifted away from her and settled herself in a recline against the pillows behind her.

"Vuylay sucks with sleep spells; you should've called Amari or some other Spellhowler in here if you really wanted to knock me out." She responded, matter-of-fact. Vuylay glared at her from the chair she still remained seated in, narrowing her eyes menacingly.

"Thanks so much, your confidence in my skills gives me such an ego boost." She stated flatly. Terebel made his way slowly across the room as if balancing plates, and sat carefully on the side of the bed before handing the baby over to Narlafayn. Cesa's hands were in between all of them in a second, and before Narlafayn could protest, she'd exposed one of her breasts and lined the baby up with it.

"CESA!" Narlafayn exclaimed, trying to jerk the baby from her chest in shock. Cesa grabbed her bicep quickly, stilling her movement with a sharp squeeze, and glared at her.

"This is the important bonding moment, if you pull him away right now he'll register that as rejection and remember it the rest of his life." She said in a dark voice, a menacing shadow falling over her face. A look of discomfort apparent on her face, Narlafayn allowed Cesa to adjust the baby, and winced as he began to feed. She swallowed and looked up at Terebel for help, her face going slack as she found him watching the baby in wonder.

"That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen." He breathed, his eyes large like a curious child's. Narlafayn's face turned red with embarrassment, and she looked away from him and back down to the baby. It was still an uncomfortable, strange feeling, but she had to admit, it was rather cozy, even with an audience. "My little Horribel…" Terebel cooed, stroking the baby's bald head lovingly. Narlafayn lifted her head quickly to glare at him.

"We're not naming him Horribel; I refuse to carry on the stupidity your mothers started." Narlafayn said icily, cuddling the baby protectively as he continued to nurse. She looked back down to him, her expression softening. "Besides, there's nothing remotely horrible about him." She added with the snooty pride of a mother. She had to admit, the idea of being a mother and all that came with it was slowly starting to creep up on her, and it didn't feel nearly as scary as she'd previously thought.

"Well then, what are we going to name him? Miserabel?" Terebel offered brightly. Narlafayn frowned, her brows low over her eyes, and looked over to Vuylay and Lavinia. Both of them shrugged and Lavinia tried hard to keep her smile off of her face.

"Why do you want to name him such awful names?" Narlafayn finally asked, looking back up at Terebel. He gave her a hurt look before dissolving into another smile.

"Awfell, that's a good name too!" he exclaimed. His smile faded as Narlafayn continued to glare, and he sighed heavily. "I don't want to be the only one with a bad name." he said with a pout, sticking his lip out childishly. Narlafayn stuck her tongue out at him and then looked back down to the baby.

"Hmm…since he has one red eye…how about we name him Roan?" she offered, returning her gaze to her husband and smiling warmly. Cesa, Lavinia and Vuylay blinked once in unison, their eyes large with surprise. Narlafayn glanced between them and tilted her head curiously. "What, you don't like it? It means Little Red One in the ancient language, doesn't it?" she asked. Cesa and Lavinia exchanged glances before Cesa smiled nervously.

"Well yes, and it's a lovely name but…aren't you even the slightest bit disturbed that he has different colored eyes?" she asked, shutting her eyes with her smile. Narlafayn tilted her head again, and chewed the inside of her lip thoughtfully.

"Why would I be?" she asked in response. She laughed aloud as everyone in the room donned somber expressions, and shook her head. "Don't worry, that damn hammer is still sleeping away inside of me. Besides, if it were that, both of his eyes would be violet from the start—that's the way you identify a god-touched you know." She said with a smile. "No, his eye's red because Terebel's grandpa is an evil chaos god, that's why." She said in a babyish voice, lifting her son enough to nuzzle him. Those in the room, including Terebel's, mouths dropped open into 'o' shapes as her words made sense; they hadn't thought of that! She sighed and began to shift towards the side of the bed, ignoring Cesa's hand as she put it out to stop her.

"You shouldn't be moving already, you just had some massive surgery!" Cesa exclaimed. Narlafayn frowned at her over her shoulder as she re-adjusted her nightgown to cover her chest once more.

"So? Didn't you guys heal me up? I'm just a little tired in the muscles now, but I think I'm well enough to walk." Narlafayn stated, putting an arm out for Terebel to hold as she slowly stood. She cast him a smile of loving gratitude once she was steady, and shifted the baby in her arms. "Let's go introduce Haibane to their newest member, Roan Bahs." She said, walking slowly towards the door.

"I still think his name would be better if it were Horribel." Terebel muttered in a pouting voice as he helped her walk. Narlafayn ignored him, and continued onwards to where everyone was waiting.

The proud new parents exited the room to a chorus of congratulations and ooh and aahs as those gathered in the hall gazed at the new baby. Waverly stood eagerly on his tiptoes, trying to get them to lower the baby to his level so he could look at him. He'd never before seen such a tiny person in his conscious memories, and he was curious to see what they looked like. He blushed in wonder as Narlafayn slowly knelt to show Roan to him, and grinned happily at his aunt.

The next child to see the baby was Ashland, who burst into jealous tears at the sight of this intruder. Sharmin turned red with embarrassment and tried to laugh off her son's reaction as Narlafayn moved through the group to show the baby off. Sharmin had arrived at the Elven Village alone, Gatz unable to visit due to an important political meeting he was required to attend in Aden that day. She was pregnant again, and Koyori made a few sarcastic jokes that Sharmin had been improperly influenced by Mama Pixie. Even Leon showed up, and awkwardly held the baby as Narlafayn declared him Roan's godfather.

Cruisnik stood to the back of the group with friends of his that were also in Haibane whom Narlafayn had never met before, and nodded his congratulations, but did not join the crowd fawning over the baby. Helene and Ashamen from Wrath of Sorrow arrived with a small gift for Roan. Helene eagerly took a turn to cuddle the baby and give Ashamen a shining look.

"Oh I know that face." Arvalo stated sympathetically, as Ashamen cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Dasniall was there to hold the baby next, and dramatically proclaimed himself Roans mentor and secondary godfather. Broud arrived alone with congratulations from Sprissa, and declined holding the baby with a nervous look.

Vuylay stood to the back of the group with Ryonai, holding hands with him and smiling. No one could even fathom that they'd nearly lost Narlafayn not even an hour before, and Vuylay knew that it should stay that way. There was too much happiness, something that Haibane hadn't had a lot of in the past to dampen it with frightful tales. She felt proud of her friend at that moment, as not even she had the strength to stand after giving birth to her twins, even with the best bishop in Innadril Territory as her midwife. It just proved to her how much Narlafayn loved her friends, and how she wanted to share with them one of the most important events of her life.

Her smile dropped as a chill surged through her, and she looked over her shoulder quickly. Noticing the air around her had changed, Ryonai glanced at her curiously. Sensing his eyes on her, Vuylay turned back around to smile at him, and leaned over to peck his cheek lightly. He turned his head so she got his lips instead, turning the innocent gesture into something more meaningful. She withdrew after a moment, her cheeks pink, and opened her eyes lazily to look at Ryonai.

"You're always out to cause trouble." She said in a seductive tone, drawing close to him to rest her arms on his shoulders. His reply was to give her a lopsided grin, and then press her close for a deeper kiss. Although enjoying this private moment with him, Vuylay's heart was uneasy. She didn't like what she'd sensed…and she hoped that it was just her imagination.

Later, Narlafayn and Terebel retreated back to their house after most of Haibane had departed for their own homes. Exhausted, Narlafayn fed Roan and then placed him in Terebel's arms before collapsing in her own bed. She was asleep before her head had even settled on the pillow, and Terebel smiled at the picture she made. Lavinia's old room had been transformed into Roan's nursery, and Terebel slowly walked down the short hall to place him in his cradle. It was an amazing thing, he decided, being a father. He wondered that if, somewhere, Ballard had felt the same way when he first held him in his arms. Seeing the little person lying innocently before him filled him with a sense of pride and protectiveness…and he knew he loved his son without even knowing him.

Returning to the hall, he peeked in Cesa's old room, which had been turned into a guest room and was currently housing Ryonai and Vuylay for the night, to bid them goodnight. (When asked where Hara and Ren were, Ryonai snickered and claimed that Amari was making up for lost time at abandoning the job he'd been given.) Terebel slipped out as quickly as he'd slipped in and winced once he was in the safety of the hall again. Ryonai and Vuylay were already engaged in certain activities that he instantly wished he could un-see. Shaking his head (and feeling slightly jealous as it would be a while before Narlafayn felt up to anything intimate), he returned to the room he shared with Narlafayn and retired to bed as well.

It was well past midnight when Vuylay woke from a dreamless sleep with a start. She sat up in bed quickly, her unbound hair falling over her face in strands. Her heart thudded in fear, and she shivered as another chill surged through her. Her ears strained as she listened to the sounds in the house, trying hard to hear something although she wasn't sure what she was listening for.

"What's wrong?" Ryonai asked, his voice thick with sleep. Vuylay didn't answer, her eyes dancing about the darkened room as she continued to search for the unknown. There was another moment of complete silence before a piercing scream tore through the house. Ryonai was fully awake in an instant, and burst out of the room just as Narlafayn fled down the hall and out of the front door.

"Narlafayn? What's wrong?" Terebel called, racing to the door of his own bedroom.

"What happened?" Ryonai asked, catching Terebel's attention as he stepped into the hallway.

"I'm not sure, she wasn't in bed when she screamed…"he said, scratching the back of his head. Glancing at each other in worry, Terebel and Ryonai quickly pulled on enough clothes to be considered decent for public display, and raced out after her. Now alone in the house, Vuylay slowly exited the room and walked down the hall towards Roan's nursery. The door was partially open and swung slightly in a breeze from the open window in the room, giving the darkened house a very eerie aura. Swallowing nervously, she pushed the door open, its hinges creaking as it swung towards the wall. Hugging herself, Vuylay approached Roan's cradle worriedly, instinctively knowing was she was going to see.

It was empty.

Covering her mouth with one, shaking hand, Vuylay sunk to the floor, her other hand gripping the edge of the cradle tight enough to turn her knuckles white. She breathed in a great, shaking sob, and bent towards the floor.

"Damn you Shizuka…" she cried, her voice lost as she succumbed to sobbing.

Her eyes large like a mad-woman's, Narlafayn raced through the village, panting hysterically. Who could've taken her baby? Why would they have taken him? Did she still have so many lingering enemies? Was it someone who worshiped Shilen trying to hurt the Seal of Gnosis? Where should she begin searching? How did they get Roan out of the house without anyone noticing? Why would they do this…WHY?

She slid to a stop outside of the village in the pond around the Mother Tree-the first place she saw when she awoke in this world. Realizing she'd run through the entire village without seeing anyone who could've taken Roan, Narlafayn fell to her knees and drew in a loud, gasping breath, which she let out in a mournful sob. She rocked on her knees, her head thrown back as she cried. She wished with all of her might in that moment that she'd been overcome by the Hammer in Frintezza's cathedral. Nothing save loosing Terebel could hurt this much, and she didn't want to feel it now.

A baby's frightened cry met her ears as she wailed, and she choked back her sob as her heart leapt in hope. Summoned by her crying, Ryonai and Terebel arrived at the Mother Tree glade just as Narlafayn pushed herself to her feet and made her way towards the tree, where the cries were emanating from. Peering behind one of the twisted roots of the tree, Narlafayn seemed to freeze from Terebel's standpoint, and she leaned over.

"Did she find him?" Ryonai asked in a hushed voice, afraid to speak loudly. Narlafayn stood again cradling something against her chest, and the men could hear her crooning at it.

"Narla?" Terebel called, taking a step towards her. Her long nightgown was nearly soaked and clung to her skin, and her hair disheveled from sleep and stress. It helped complete the picture of a woman disconnected from the world as she slowly turned around to face Terebel and look at him with large eyes. Terebel swallowed with difficulty as he saw the baby she held in her arms was not Roan; it was an infant nearly a year old with a head full of wine-pink hair. It sucked on its fingers and fussed as Narlafayn walked past the men and back towards the village.

"Narlafayn, what about Roan?" Terebel called, shocked that she would give up searching for him so quickly after finding a baby not their own. Narlafayn paused and turned slowly once more to look at him, both Ryonai and Terebel drawing away in fright as one of her eyes was engulfed in black.

"She has left this one in exchange." The voice Terebel recalled with unease being the voice of the Hammer, said.

"I thought that thing was sealed away." Ryonai whispered loudly, eying Narlafayn warily. Narlafayn glanced to the ground, her expressionless face taking on the aura of pity.

"She's hurting too badly, I woke up to keep her alive." The Hammer said through Narlafayn's mouth. "This child will do, we will care for it instead." It decided, turning away from the stunned men and walking back into the Village.

Vuylay jumped to her feet from where she sat on the couch in the living room of their house as Narlafayn re-entered. Her expression of relief faded as she realized that the baby Narlafayn held was not Roan. Panic spread through her as she recognized the child's face in a way no one but a mother would. The baby Narlafayn held was nearly identical to Hara, only with more of an elfin appearance in contrast to Hara's human traits.

"Narlafayn has named her Tandy." The Hammer announced to Vuylay as the Dark Elf stared at the baby in fear. "What do infants consume? I do not believe the sustenance that this body is producing now is suitable for a child this old." Vuylay covered her mouth again and sunk back to the couch, letting her tears come forth again, afresh. The Hammer tilted Narlafayn's head and curiously regarded Vuylay. It could not understand, why were the living things so upset, a child was a child, was it not?

The Hammer stayed dominant for days after emerging, claiming it was acting on Narlafayn's behalf. It rarely left the nursery, emerging only when it claimed Narlafayn's body required food, when Tandy needed food, or to bathe. Ryonai immediately put together a team to search for the missing baby, but only Vuylay knew who took the baby. For days she paced Innadril Castle in worry, chewing her nails until they were nothing more than nubs. She cared for her children fiercely after Roan's kidnapping, bewildering both Zaren and the hired Nanny. Nobles customarily left all childcare to the hired help, but Vuylay began preparing their food and bathing them like any normal mother would.

Ryonai could sense something was amiss with Vuylay with how she behaved. He knew that she knew something and wasn't telling him, but he didn't know how to approach it without sounding abusive. He let it go, and instead lent a hand in taking care of the children when he wasn't conducting business. Life went on as such until Roan had been missing a week, and Vuylay surged from sleep in a panic once more. Shizuka had let the block between their feelings slip long enough for Vuylay to get a clear picture of where Shizuka was hiding; deep within the Forge of Gods.

Without disturbing Ryonai, Vuylay paced the Lord's Bedroom in worry. She knew where Shizuka was hiding now, and she knew that she had Roan…but for what reason? Vuylay paused in pacing to look at Ryonai's sleeping figure mournfully; she couldn't tell him where Shizuka was hiding, he'd never find people brave enough to venture into the Forge of Gods to retrieve him, and she couldn't stand the thought of him trying alone and dying a hero. Knowing that there was only one way to get into the Forge of Gods and challenge Shizuka for the baby, Vuylay swallowed against the lump in her throat and began preparing.

Some time later, Hara and Ren shifted and fussed in their sleep as Vuylay kissed their foreheads lovingly. She caressed their little cheeks with her fingers and gave them each a long, loving stare before quietly tiptoeing from their room. Next she returned to the Lord's Bedroom, and slipped back into bed to straddle Ryonai, who was lying on his back asleep. As she predicted, he woke enough to realize she was there, and drew her down to his face in a passionate kiss. What happened next was classic Ryonai; he woke up enough to make love to his wife, and then fell fast asleep right after. Vuylay cuddled next to him as she watched him sleep, trying hard to not let the tears in her eyes fall. Sniffling softly she rose up enough to kiss him gently, and then slipped out of the bed. Leaving a note on the grand desk in their bedroom, Vuylay dressed in her Avadon robes, gave Ryonai one last look, and silently left the room.


	7. Chapter 6

Vuylay traveled discreetly for days, wearing a hooded cloak as she traveled through the cities and towns of Aden, and pretending she didn't speak the language as she ventured through Elmore. She bought a Gatekeeper's port from Goddard to the resort area known as the Hot Springs, which was as it sounded; a hilly, rocky field nestled in a valley outside of the volcano that Valakas called home, filled with warm sulfuric spring baths. From there she traveled for a full day until she reached the thin, charred path into the volcanic cavern that was known as the Forge of the Gods.

The cavern ran deep within an active volcano, even though volcano's top was somewhere miles away in the forsaken lands beyond the Forbidden Gateway. Within its heart was Valakas, the dragon feeling as if he were his safest from his father there. Heat rushed out in a great bellow of wind from deep below the earth, blowing Vuylay's hood from her head and her hair straight back. She shut her eyes tightly to compose herself, shifted her travel pack on her shoulder and took a step inside the cave.

The entirety of the cavern's interior was made up of hard lava, which was still hot as fresh lava flowed beneath its obsidian surface. There was a spiraling path downwards as Vuylay first entered the Forge, a stream of lava flowing down from above at the center of it like a deadly mockery of a waterfall. The walls glowed red with the live lava flowing through it, and were jagged and rippled, giving the entire place a very hellish feel. Frightening beasts made of lava and rocks, creatures born from Valakas' frightened magic, roamed freely here. Some looked to be like turtles with miniature volcanoes on their backs, others looked to be dragon-headed worms made of rock with holes spread about the cavern. A species of Stakato had evolved to live within this place, and she knew deeper within demonic children that Valakas, like Antharas, had created from virginal sacrifices left to him eons before roamed freely.

Some looked to be hellishly beautiful like Antharas' own kin, while others appeared to be beasts. He had one daughter that many knew to rampage through the Hot Springs from time to time, named Ember. She was intelligent, but had the appearance of a dog-beast similar to a bandersnatch. She was fiercely jealous of the beauty of women, and wished she had the power to make herself look as such, as well.

For hours Vuylay walked on the hardened lava path, the heat from which began to burn her feet right through her shoes. Occasionally she would find a spot that was considerably cooler, and would pause to heal the blistered, reddened skin. The tips of her hair began to singe the deeper she traveled, but to her relief none of the beasts rushed to attack her. As she suspected, they recognized her to be Shizuka, and would not try to harm her.

Finally she reached the base of a walkway that spiraled upwards into the heart of the volcano. An armored skeleton was poised at the foot of the tower, in what Vuylay thought was a Valakas' mockery to those whom had tried to slay him in the past. Eying the bleached white bones beneath the heavy bronzed armor warily, Vuylay took a composing breath, and started towards the tower.

"Lady Shizuka?" the skeleton suddenly asked in a smooth, deep voice, startling a yelp from Vuylay as it moved to look at her. Eerily animated for a skeleton, Vuylay took a step backwards as the skeleton peered at her face, the bones around the empty eye sockets shifting as he squinted at her. She absent-mindedly felt her own face, making sure her cheekbones couldn't move like his. "No, you're not Lady Shizuka." The skeleton finally said, standing straight again. He returned to his statuesque pose, and Vuylay blinked, unsure if she'd just imagined him speaking to her. Curious, she wandered close to him and walked a half-circle around him, trying to see if there was some mechanism making him move.

"Foolish and brave traveler, might I help you?" the skeleton asked, startling her again as it moved to look at her once more. Vuylay fumbled for her bag as it slipped from her shoulder with her movement, and clutched it to her chest protectively.

"I've come to find Shizuka, where is she?" Vuylay demanded, hugging her bag tighter. The skeleton regarded her for a moment, the bones around his eyes shifting again as he squinted at her. They returned to normal and his mouth opened slightly as if surprised.

"You're Lady Vuylay." The skeleton stated in a hushed voice. To her shock the skeleton suddenly bowed low, and placed his charred, battered sword on the hot stone in front of her. "I've been waiting for your arrival Lady Vuylay; I am pleased to see you are well." The skeleton said reverently. "I am Klein, one of the Watchmen of Valakas." He introduced. Vuylay took a step away from him cautiously and eyed him.

"How do you know who I am?" she asked warily, not trusting his sudden politeness.

"All of us connected to guarding the seals upon Shilen and her children know the kin of the gods from the moment we meet." Klein stated, not rising from his bow. "Once I saw Lady Shizuka return with the descendant of Gran Kain, I knew you would follow suit." Vuylay stood straight with this, and looked around the cavern with large eyes.

"She has Roan here? Where is she? Where is she keeping him?" she asked quickly, her eyes scanning the glowing cavern. Still not rising from his bow, Klein raised a hand to point overhead.

"Up there, near the heart of the volcano where Valakas hides, you'll find her in the room too cold for the children within this place, but bearably warm for your kind." Klein said elegantly. He lowered his arm with a creak and grind of old joints and a clink of armor, and returned to his bow. Vuylay nodded her thanks and shouldered her travel pack once more to rush past him and up the spiraling ramp.

The journey into the heart of the volcano was long, the air growing increasingly hot and stuffy as she ascended the ramp. For what felt like hours she climbed, her legs growing heavier and burning with exertion as she pushed herself onward. Finally she reached the top of the ramp, and found herself in a large cavernous room, much like those below her, but the air was decidedly cooler in here, fresher. Vuylay collapsed in a heap on the ground, and tried to catch her breath.

There was a strange noise from deep within this upper cavern that caught Vuylay's attention, and caused her to swiftly raise her head. It sounded like childish sobbing, but the voice sounded much too old to be Roan. Still curious, Vuylay rose to her feet, and winced as the muscles in her legs protested at being put to work once more.

For what felt like more hours, Vuylay traveled slowly through the caverns. The sound of crying met her ears again as she reached a ledge that overlooked a cavern that a river of lava flowed through, louder and more distinct. Her heart squeezing at it, Vuylay climbed off the ledge and waved her legs around until she found a foothold in the cavern below. Finding she couldn't carry her bag and climb, she left it on the ledge, and began hopping lightly from rock to rock across the lava river. Her skin began to blister and peel as she moved from the heat rising off of the lava, and she cried out in pain. Once she reached the opposite side of the lava river, she collapsed and quickly began healing herself, trying not to cry. She was growing exhausted with healing the burns on her skin, and prayed she'd find Shizuka soon.

As soon as she was healed, she stood again, and slowly made her way into the next cavern. A knot formed in her stomach as she realized the stone and air in this next room were considerably cooler than the rest of the upper caverns, and sure enough Shizuka sat at the end opposite to where she entered, sitting upon a slab of obsidian similar to a dais.

"Shizuka!" Vuylay called, taking on a challenging stance. From twin sheathes upon her back she pulled a pair of dual swords, and held them in her hands, ready for a fight. Shizuka's head raised quickly, her eyes large and haunting. Vuylay almost felt a pang of pity for her other half; the light-colored mirror image of herself was no longer as beautiful as she'd once been.

Her hair was ragged from too long spent in intense heat, and patches of scarred over burns graced her face and body. Her clothes, once a shining, elegant white, were blackened and nearly gone. Shizuka's cheeks appeared gaunt and thin, and dark circles surrounded her eyes, giving her the look of a madwoman.

"No, you can't have him, I claimed him!" Shizuka cried, gathering up the form Vuylay hadn't noticed at first, lying in front of her. The swords dropped from Vuylay's hands as Shizuka rocked the body she held. It was a pale-skinned, black-haired man, who began to wail like a baby as she jostled him. Vuylay's lips parted and she felt the color drain from her face as a wild idea that slowly became real in front of her, crossed her mind.

"Shizuka…you didn't…you didn't age him…did you?" Vuylay barely managed to breathe. Her voice was a hushed whisper, but it echoed loudly through the cavern. Shizuka's expression of wide-eyed, possessive fear slowly melted into a look of sinister mirth, and she tilted her head as she gazed lovingly at the man in her arms.

"Why should I have to wait? The son of the Destroyer…he can give me the child I need to win Mother's favor again…"Shizuka crooned, caressing the man's face. An ill feeling swept through Vuylay and she resisted the urge to lean over and heave. "But his body isn't cooperating…all he does is lay there and cry every time I try to be nice to him." Shizuka suddenly added like a child frustrated at a new toy. "Why won't you respond to me? You should be all grown up!" she shouted. The man, no, the forcibly aged Roan, began to cry in fright at the sound of her voice, and Shizuka dropped him in disgust. His head connected with the hard stone of the slab she sat upon, and he began to wail louder. Shizuka whimpered and doubled over, covering her ears at the sound. "Shut up…SHUT UP!" she cried, burying her head between her knees.

Vuylay trembled as Shizuka screamed as loud as the man whom still had the mind and senses of a baby. She was horrified that Shizuka's sanity had snapped to the point where she would try to age an infant in a wild attempt at winning Shilen's favor. Where she gained the power to do so was beyond Vuylay's comprehension, but there wasn't time to ponder it now. Roan needed to return to his natural form, lest the damage Shizuka had done by aging him quickly be permanent and dangerous.

"Shi…zu…KAAA!" Vuylay screamed, grabbing the swords from the ground and running at the insane light elf. Shizuka stopped screaming and her head snapped up to see Vuylay just as she swung the blades at her. She blinked out of existence mere moments before the blades struck her, the swords harmlessly cutting through the air above Roan. She spun quickly as Shizuka re-appeared behind her and swung the metal-tipped bo-staff that she had used to fight her back in Frintezza's Cathedral.

With a wild laugh Shizuka swung the staff at her again, which Vuylay blocked by crossing her swords in an x-shape in front of her. Terebel had been teaching her basics of the Bladedancing style of swordplay, but she wasn't sure if she were strong enough to hold up against the dark strength that Shizuka had.

Shizuka poked short jabs at Vuylay with the staff, which Vuylay struggled to deflect with her blades. Sparks flew from the staff's tip as it met with her swords, and Vuylay gritted her teeth in frustration as the sharpened edges of her blade were ruined from deflecting the metal of the staff.

She traveled backwards across the cavern, deflecting Shizuka's blows and grimacing as she waited for an opening. Vuylay spun out of Shizuka's reach as she came at her overhead, the staff crashing into the obsidian floor and cracking it. Spinning past her, Vuylay took the split second opening she had and cut her blade towards Shizuka's exposed midsection. The Elf cried out as the blade nearly gutted her, and crouched to the ground. Her horrified cries lasted only a moment as she began to laugh, and opened the connection between Vuylay and herself. Vuylay gasped and her eyes widened as she felt the pain from the sword wound, and collapsed to her knees, her swords clattering to the ground around her.

"There you have it…you're just the half that will disappear once we re-merge." Shizuka giggled breathlessly as she pulled herself to her feet by leaning heavily on the staff. Blood poured from the wound as she moved, splattering across the floor of the cavern like water poured from a bucket. She kicked Vuylay's swords out of reach, the blades spinning as they traveled across the cavern floor.

From the waistband of her seared skirt she pulled a wave-bladed dagger, and dropped the staff. With a joyous giggle she stabbed herself in the leg and wiggled the blade as if crushing a bug. Vuylay cried out with it and fell over to clutch her leg. "Oh I so missed this fun!" Shizuka purred as blood pumped out of her leg as soon as she withdrew the dagger. "Knowing all the pain and agony that I could put you through…why didn't you come visit me sooner?" she asked, pouting like a child.

"Burn in the hellfire of Gran Kain's realm." Vuylay spat in a hoarse voice. Shizuka's enthusiastic expression melted into one of insane rage, and she pounced upon Vuylay to straddle her stomach. Repeatedly she began stabbing her other half in the chest, laughing as if it were the most enjoyable thing in the world. Vuylay was tense with the pain, and stared wide-eyed at the jagged ceiling above her, frozen with the shock of being stabbed for real. She choked blood from her throat as Shizuka continued to stab, tears escaping her eyes as she thought of her children and Ryonai. _I love you…_she thought, shutting her eyes as more tears ran from the corners.

Shizuka jerked away from Vuylay as the Dark Elf opened her eyes again and focused upon her other half. The very same wounds she'd just made on Vuylay opened up on her own chest, blood bubbling forth from the cuts that Vuylay was willing into Shizuka's body.

"You are my mirror, you are only a reflection!" Vuylay snarled hatefully, her voice wet with her own blood. Shizuka fell onto her side and panted as her blood pooled around her, and Vuylay drew away from her as best she could. She coughed and heaved, trying to keep her lungs clear long enough for her to begin healing herself.

"I am not a reflection!" Shizuka suddenly cried, grabbing her dagger and flying at Vuylay. Instinctively, Vuylay reached out, her fingers brushing the hilt of one of her swords. She grabbed it and thrust it forward in a panic, trying to protect herself until the very last moment. Shizuka's blade ripped through her chest and embedded itself deep within her heart at the same time Vuylay's blade pierced her own chest, and both women stared at each other in shock. They exchanged silent words as Shizuka fell onto Vuylay's sword, the end bursting from her back in a spray of blood. She fell to her side then, her eyes glassy and vacant as life fled from them.

Vuylay fell backwards as she exhaled one final breath, her vision clouding over as the keeper of the Abyss flew to claim her. A bright light filled her vision as it grew hazy, and Vuylay's lips parted as a glowing man with shining silver hair, wearing a white eye mask, suddenly peered down at her. His lips moved as he spoke something, but he was growing farther and farther away from her as she slipped into darkness.

The infant-man Roan whimpered where he lay on the slab, helpless despite his size. A pale, slender hand reached out and touched his forehead gently, turning his frightened expression into one of serenity. A glow surrounded him and then shrunk, taking his adult form with it. Soon all that lay on the slab was a newborn boy, which a woman with shining white skin lifted gently and cradled in her arms. Snow-white wings sprung from her back and she took to the air, showering the cavern with ethereal feathers as she lifted into the air and disappeared.

Behind the dais, another baby sat, this one with shocking red hair, sucking on his fingers and whimpering in fright. He looked around his tiny body with a frightened expression, and began to cry around his hand as his infantile mind came to realize he was alone.

"Mama…" this baby cried.

Terebel slowly walked back towards the Village the evening of the second week since Roan's kidnapping. His swords were unsheathed, which he let drag in the grass. His shoulders drooped, and dark circles ringed his eyes. He, like Narlafayn, had not been sleeping well since that night. Ryonai had recently contacted them in search of Vuylay, whom had apparently left him a letter telling him that Shizuka had swapped her child for Roan, and she knew where the Elven Elder was hiding. The news that Narlafayn had been caring for Shizuka's abandoned child as her own shocked him, but the Hammer, still speaking for Narlafayn, claimed that it didn't matter.

Koyori had been staying with Calisan in the Village all that week, and had been helping Narlafayn care for the baby. She had said that she knew of some Dwarves who ran an adoption service for parents whose children had died of illness and war, and that Tandy was a perfect candidate for it. Narlafayn seemed against the idea, although she'd never openly spoken about it.

A strange feeling flooded through his stomach, electrifying his senses and causing him to stand upright. He scanned the forest around the village with large eyes, never before having felt this. He got the distinct feeling that he needed to go towards the Mother Tree, and sheathed his swords to race there.

It was quiet as he approached the glade, the only sounds the faint tinkling of pixies as they flew through the forest and the distant roar of the waterfalls that emptied from the village back into the lake below it. His eyes scanned his surroundings that were growing dark as the sun set. Something was there, he could feel it. Something that was like him, only he didn't know how.

The jolt passed through him again, and he raised his head swiftly, sensing it overhead. His mouth dropped open slightly in surprise as he caught sight of a woman wearing a long, flowing white dress with short sleeves, standing on one of the Mother Tree's branches above him. She looked at him with Vuylay's face, but her hair was a lighter shade of violet, wavy without bangs and streaked with pink, and bright white wings sat on her back.

"Vuylay?" he breathed, knowing instinctively that somehow, she'd become immortal. The woman's expression grew pained, and she looked away from him as if resisting the urge to cry.

"No…not anymore." She said, her voice low. She spoke with Shizuka's voice despite having Vuylay's face, and he drew in a breath as he realized what had happened. He'd heard the story that Vuylay could only become whole again if she and her other half nearly killed each other in battle from Gran Kain himself, and as he gazed on this perfect combination of both Shizuka and Vuylay, he knew what had happened.

Gracefully, the woman who was once Vuylay hopped from the branch she was perched upon, her wings spreading as she floated to the Mother Tree pool. Terebel's heart nearly stopped in his chest as his eyes landed on the bundle she carried in her arms and approached him with. A hard lump choked up his throat as she gently handed the bundle over to him. He cried out with a triumphant laugh of joy that was laced with tears as his eyes gazed upon the sleeping face of Roan, and looked up to Vuylay in thanks.

"Take good care of him." She said in a soft voice, turning away from him and spreading her wings. Realizing she was leaving, Terebel took a step after her.

"Wait…you're going back to Ryonai aren't you?" he asked, finally realizing the soft expression gracing her features was sadness. Vuylay froze and glanced at Terebel slightly over her shoulder, but didn't face him.

"I never want to see him again." She said in an expressionless voice. Without another word she spread her wings and took to the air. Terebel watched her until she was a speck in the sky, and then looked back down at his son in relief. He carried him gently into the Elven Village, and into their house. Koyori stood up from where she sat at the kitchen table as he passed her, her eyes large.

"What is that?" she asked, her voice quivering in excitement. Terebel looked up at her with a smile and she covered her mouth with both hands to stifle her squeal of joy. Beaming at the excited Prophet, Terebel turned to walk carefully down the hall and entered their bedroom. Narlafayn had been returning to her senses more often recently, and had holed herself up in the bedroom, not even wanting to see Tandy.

She sat in a chair by the window, watching without expression as Waverly played with some boys from the Village outside of it. Still smiling, Terebel slowly placed Roan in her arms, grinning as she finally took her attention off of Waverly to look at what he was giving her. Both of her eyes were violet to his relief; he didn't want to deal with the Hammer curiously questioning why he was giving her another child.

Life began to return to Narlafayn's eyes as reality dawned on her, and she looked up at Terebel with tears swimming in them. He nodded at her, and she dissolved into a joyful sob. Holding Roan carefully with one arm, she reached up with her other to clutch him to her in a hug, sobbing and laughing at the same time. They both parted to look down at their son, both showering the infant's head with gentle kisses.

Koyori watched them from the door of the bedroom with a smile, and shut it quietly. Taking a breath she thought for a moment, and then nodded to herself. Humming happily, she wandered into the nursery were Tandy was sitting up in the cradle fingering a stuffed Crokian that Narlafayn had given her and cooing in baby-speak. She looked up at Koyori with childish curiosity as the Prophet smiled over her, and blinked her large, yellow-green eyes.

An hour later Terebel and Narlafayn emerged from the bedroom still cooing at their son, whom they discovered with joy had learned how to smile. Narlafayn laughed for what felt like the first time in ages, and leaned up to kiss Terebel happily. She smiled brightly, and turned towards the nursery.

"I want to introduce him to Tandy; she'll be his sister from now on." Narlafayn stated, moving down the hall. Terebel tilted his head curiously at her, surprised that she was aware that she'd unofficially adopted the baby.

"Narla…she's Shizuka's daughter you know…" he began hesitantly. Narlafayn frowned at him and glared, making him feel stupid for saying it.

"I don't care, I want to keep her. You said once you wanted a daughter too." Narlafayn retorted, opening the nursery door. She gasped as she entered, and Terebel rushed in beside her. "Oh no, not again…why again?" she asked mournfully, her throat tightening as she spoke. The cradle in front of them was once again empty.

"Stay here." Terebel murmured, bouncing once on his foot before running out the door. Quickly he calculated that Koyori was no longer in the house, and rushed into the Village knowing she'd taken Tandy somewhere. Spying Calisan standing by the Village Gatekeeper, he raced down the circular road towards him, and slid to a halt. Calisan turned to look at him curiously before breaking into a wide grin.

"Koyori told me that you found Roan again, congratulations! Have you told the others yet?" he asked, patting Terebel on the shoulder. Terebel pushed his hand off angrily and looked around.

"Where is Koyori? Where did she go?" he demanded. Frowning at Terebel's rejection of his attempt at being friendly, Calisan shrugged.

"Where else would she have gone? She said you guys decided since Roan was back you didn't have the time or money for two babies, so she's taken Tandy to that Dwarven Adoption place." He said. His brow furrowed as Terebel gave him a horrified look, and then realization slowly dawned in on him.

"Oh shit…she just made up a story thinking she was doing something right, didn't she." Calisan groaned, covering his face with his hand. He slid it off with an angry sigh, and stared at the sky for strength. "Stay here with Narla and your son; I'll go see if I can catch her." He grumbled, turning to the Gatekeeper. He blinked out of existence a moment later, leaving Terebel to return to his home, and to try and comfort Narlafayn's sadness at loosing Tandy despite the happiness of getting their son back.

That night in Heine, the twins slept peacefully in their cribs, dreaming whatever it was that babies would dream of. A gentle breeze suddenly blew through their nursery and caressed their skin, both babies smiling in their sleep at the feel of it.

Within the Lord's Bedroom, Ryonai had finally managed to dissolve in a fitful sleep. His face beaded with sweat as nightmares caused from stress danced across his unconscious mind. A pale hand reached out and caressed his face gently, pushing strands of hair behind his ear. Lacquered lips lowered themselves to his ear, and a voice laced with tears whispered; "I love you."

Ryonai woke with a start, his heart pounding. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, almost feeling as if Vuylay had returned and crawled into bed with him. Finding her side empty, he let out the breath he'd been holding in a sigh, and rolled out of bed. Rubbing his face and sighing again he wandered across the room to the open balcony that overlooked the ocean. Leaning heavily upon the railing, he gazed out at the water, which suddenly no longer seemed beautiful and peaceful, but cold and unforgiving.

"Come back." A person with a voice that sounded too tear-filled to be his said with his mouth. His plea went unanswered, the only sound to meet his ears that of the ocean.


	8. Chapter 7

_The Present_

Mune finally managed to deliver the letters to the Hierarch and made her way out of the Temple and towards her house. She and Terebel had been walking for days, and she was eager to relax in their new indoor tub and curl up with one of the books Lavinia left behind. Her eye twitched as Roan came into view, sitting outside of the house with a wooden puzzle, which he was concentrating hard upon. He looked up at her as she approached and blinked. One thing that annoyed her about her cousin was his lack of expression; the kid seemed to be completely devoid of emotion towards anyone but his parents. He still had one red eye, but his other had turned into the striking sea-green that Terebel's were. His hair was black and laced with strands of silver as if he were going gray before his time, but his facial features screamed that of Narlafayn's traits, from the shape of his eyes right down to the way his chin pointed.

"Are they using the entire house?" Mune asked through her teeth, putting a hand to the twitching muscle around her eye and massaging it. Roan nodded and then returned to his puzzle, loosing interest in Mune instantly. She sighed in aggravation, and slumped to the ground next to him to watch him ponder over his puzzle. He was an incredibly bright little boy, and had recently discovered the wonderful world of puzzles thanks to Sharmin's second son, Fitz. "I wish they'd take into account how that kind of behavior is going to scar you later. Doesn't it bother you?" Mune grumbled after staring at him for awhile. He shrugged lightly and sat back on his knees after connecting several pieces of puzzle together.

"I don't care; it means they love each other." Roan responded. His voice had a hoarse edge, as if constantly roughened by illness. His serious intellect was almost as annoying as Waverly's curiosity, and Mune seriously weighed which one of the boys she disliked being around the most. Luckily Waverly was finally growing up, and finding that chopping down trees out in the forest with his squire sword instead of killing Keltir was more fun than hanging around his family.

Mune sighed again as she decided that continuing to reminisce would help curb her boredom while she waited for Terebel and Narlafayn to take their joy at being reunited into the bedroom. Koyori had been banned from seeing the Bahs family after taking off with Tandy without their permission. Calisan had caught up with her moments too late; she'd just turned Tandy over to the Dwarves as he found her, and she didn't know their destination. He'd assured Narlafayn and Terebel that he'd continue searching for Tandy through his business, but five years had passed and he'd had no luck.

There was three years of peace after the Roan incident, although Mune knew for Ryonai those three years were spent in emotional agony. Vuylay had disappeared without a trace, and the lack of her presence began to take a toll on him.


	9. Chapter 8

(Author's Sub-note: SirAlexWindawood, if you happen across this fiction one day, I do apologize for unabashedly using you in this chapter. I never knew you in game save your name, nor do I have an outstanding grudge against you in any shape or form. You provided inspiration in part for this chapter, and I do hope you'll forgive me for how I portrayed you. I mean not to besmirch your good name, and I'm sure you're a very pleasant individual. Sincerely, Liz Inverse)

**Part 3**

_In Which Mune remembers how people disappeared_

In the third year after the war with Elmore, political unrest began to shake the peace that had descended over Aden. Giran wished to expand its territory into Oren, saying there wasn't enough fertile land in the Giran area to properly support a farming community. Oren opposed the idea, and soon there was talk of civil war breaking out between the two territories. Every Lord, Governor and Mayor was called to head to Giran for a peace conference by the King of Aden, in a last-ditch attempt at keeping Aden from being rocked by war again.

"Why does Talking Island have to get involved with this, it doesn't make sense." Sharmin protested. She sat up in bed and hugged the blankets around her protectively. Gatz sat heavily on the opposite side of their bed and glanced at her over his shoulder once before reclining.

"It's not as if I want to go, but my order came from the Lord of Gludio Castle. As much as it pains me to admit it, he's my boss, so to keep things nice between us and Gludio, I've got to go." He said wearily, stretching out against the pillows. Her forehead still creased with worry, Sharmin crawled across the bed to his side, where she began kneading his legs with her knuckles. "Ah that feels nice." Gatz sighed, sinking into the mattress. "Why are you so upset anyway? I've done trips like this before…"he asked after a moment, and raised his head slightly to look at his wife. Sharmin pressed her lips into a thin line as she thought, and shrugged lightly.

"I've just got a strange feeling about this trip, and I don't like it." She said sullenly, pausing with her fingers' movements. Gatz made a small, childish noise in the back of his throat and moved his leg slightly to return her attention to it. He sighed happily again once she began massaging it once more. Sharmin laughed lightly through her nose at his actions, and let a tiny smile break out on her face. "Why are you taking a boat anyway, wouldn't it be faster to Gate your way there?" she asked, worry knitting her brow high on her forehead again. Gatz slowly opened his eyes from their relaxed state, and stared at the ceiling above him.

"I'm not why that is either, actually." He stated slowly. "I received a letter saying I had to get on the ship and come in to Giran through the harbor. Apparently a representative from Oren is going to meet me on the boat and debrief me before the meeting." He glanced down at Sharmin and reached out to grab her arm. Tugging gently on her he pulled her to lay next to him, and wrapped his arms around her. "Ah I wish I was still just a normal person out adventuring the world. I didn't get enough of that." Gatz grumbled, snuggling close to Sharmin as she lay on her back. Sharmin smiled lightly and glanced at him, raising an arm to hug him back.

"Even with having two sons now?" she asked, amused. Gatz raised his eyebrows in mock surprise of her question before leaning towards her and kissing her temple.

"Especially with two sons. I'd teach them everything I know." He grinned. He pouted as Sharmin's eyes widened in a playful expression of fear. She was unable to keep it for longer than a second however, and laughed as she snuggled close to him in return. Her movement caused Gatzs' heart to pound, and his expression grew serious as he lifted himself up enough to gaze down at her. He caressed her face with his hand once and followed it with a gentle kiss. Sharmin responded eagerly, and the kiss quickly became more.

Their lovemaking felt different to Sharmin this time. More than once she had to choke back tears as she clung to Gatz. It felt to her that it would be the last time for them, and this left her in a state of despair despite the pleasure_. Please keep him safe…_she prayed. Not trusting the gods of her world any longer, she directed her prayer to the being that spoke to her when she tried to fall backwards in time to repair events, the voice that Ferrol later pondered being Ether, the spirit from which the world, Gran Kain and Einhasad were created. She found it difficult to sleep later when they were through, and finally let her tears come forth as she listened to Gatz's peaceful breathing next to her.

Gatz's farewell from Talking Island harbor was a somber one, and he more than once had to encourage Sharmin to smile as he kissed her and his two sons goodbye. Ashland, now three and with a surprisingly full vocabulary, bounced around the harbor asking his father questions. His brother Fitz, only two, clung to his mother shyly and hid his face as Gatz attempted to kiss him goodbye as well. Fitz seemed to understand his father was leaving, and suddenly regarded him as he did a stranger. Gatz smiled and kissed Fitz's head anyway, and then kissed Sharmin lovingly.

"Gatz, your boat's going to depart." Ferrol said over Ashland's curious questions. Gatz broke the kiss to nod at his father-in-law, and then returned his gaze to Sharmin.

"Don't go." She whispered, tears sliding from her eyes. She sobbed softly as Gatz caressed her cheek, and shut her eyes as he kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry." He said gently, pressing their foreheads together. "Just keep remembering, it's just a conference…we've been separated for them before." He drew away from her with a smile, shouldered his travel bag as he turned towards the waiting ship at the end of the dock. Sir Collin was waiting at the ship's ramp, and was the last to hug Gatz farewell before the former Warlord boarded the boat. He joined the family where they stood a moment later, and sighed proudly.

"He's come a long way, hasn't he?" Sir Collin asked, watching as they pulled the ships ramp into the boat. Ferrol slipped an arm around Sharmin's shoulders, and hugged her tightly.

"You'll be fine, you've got Collin and I here." He said with as much assurance as he could. Sharmin's instincts were incredibly sharp, more so than what she even realized and Ferrol couldn't help but sharing a nagging feeling of unease with his daughter. A desperate look crossed her face, and she quickly detached Fitz from her body and handed him to Ferrol. Lifting her dress from around her legs enough for her to run, Sharmin raced down to where the ship was docked, and reached for Gatz, who stood at the railing of the ship.

"Sharmin don't, you're going to fall in!" Gatz yelled, following the railing as the ship began to move. She stopped reaching as she realized he was too far from her, and instead collapsed to her knees with mournful sobbing. "Oh Sharmin please don't…" he pleaded, his own voice choked with tears. He thought desperately for a moment as he tried to fight crying himself, trying to come to a quick decision before the boat was too far from harbor.

"Gatz, port back to Talking Island once you dock at Giran Harbor. We'll send Leandro in your place." Collin called. Sharmin choked mid-sob, and looked up to find the retired Knight standing next to her. Relief flooded Gatz's face with this, and he nodded. Too far to shout any responses in return, Gatz waved until the ship was far from the harbor. Smiling, Sir Collin held a hand out to Sharmin, which she took hesitantly. "There we are, he'll be back in a couple of days." He stated warmly. He brushed her skirt off for her as if she were a child, and slid an arm across her shoulders to lead her back to her sons and father.

"Thanks…" she said with a sniffle, wiping her face. It was empty gratitude, as Sir Collin's solution only gave her a little peace of mind. It wasn't Giran or the meeting that Sharmin realized she was worried about…it was the boat ride there.

The days following Gatz's departure crawled by for Sharmin, and she lived mostly in pensive silence. Not understanding his mother's sudden withdrawal into herself, Ashland turned most of his attention onto bullying his little brother. Ferrol took over caring for the boys the day Ashland began actually hitting his brother, and ordered Sharmin to rest and not think.

Truthfully it hurt Sharmin to look at her sons without Gatz there, especially Ashland. The young boy was the spitting image of Gatz, except his hair was a rich caramel color to the golden blonde of Gatz's hair. Finding a carbon copy of himself amazing, Gatz had cut Ashland's hair in a similar jawbone length as his own, but the image of him now hurt Sharmin's heart. Fitz resembled Ferrol more, and had dark brown hair.

In the three years that Sharmin had been married to Gatz, life had been peaceful. It was largely uneventful, but after everything she'd witnessed in the war with Elmore, especially the things that no one else would remember, she was thankful for that. She'd attempted to wash away every sign that she'd been a Paladin once she settled into being the wife of the Governor of Talking Island, simply because she didn't want to remember all the lives she'd taken or helped take on the battlefield. She'd begun wearing dresses that would hide her unladylike muscles and had even grown her hair out until it touched her waist. Ferrol was the only one whom showed the signs of war stress now, the torture he received in Aden Castle's basement had left him with hair speckled greatly with grey. His face was still youthful however, and people found it hard to believe he was in his late forties despite his hair color.

The days turned into a week, and then a week and a half, and there was still no word from Gatz. Now getting worried as well, Sir Collin sent the Windawood's personal porter Remy to Giran to try and find out what happened. He assured a terrified Sharmin that perhaps Gatz had been unable to slip out of going to the conference, and was snatched up the instant he arrived in Giran. She tried to find comfort with this, but the sick feeling of unease still swam through her insides.

One sunny day on the first day of fall, Ferrol finally coaxed Sharmin out of her room to go on a picnic with him and the boys out at the Obelisk of Victory. Sir Collin was out there as usual, and joined them for lunch. For the first time in almost two weeks, Sharmin mustered up the strength to smile as Sir Collin helped Ashland direct some of his extra energy into learning swordsmanship stances. Ferrol had brought a children's picture book with him, and read to Fitz who sat in his lap. The toddler seemed to be more interested in watching Ferrol's mouth move than he was in the book, and Sharmin chuckled as he stuck his fingers in his grandfather's mouth.

The next moment would forever be imprinted in Sharmin's memory as the time when the sun became glaringly, unbearably bright. As she gazed down the path leading back to the Village, a figure came into view racing down it. Sharmin stood up as the figure drew closer; her heart racing as she realized it was Remy. Sir Collin met the breathless porter halfway, leaving Ashland to practice his swordplay on the base of the Obelisk. Ferrol murmured reassuring words as Sir Collin spoke with Remy, but Sharmin couldn't hear them. She could only hear the sounds of the dying locusts in the trees, and her heart pulse thudding in her ears.

Sir Collin turned from Remy with a somber expression, and Ferrol put an arm across Sharmin's shoulders protectively. Her heart felt as if it stopped in the next instant, as Sir Collin relayed Remy's message to her. Her face went slack, taking on a porcelain quality that a doll had, and her knees gave out beneath her. A loud ringing began in her ears, and she stared at nothing as she willed her powers to emerge. The world began to fade around her, her power leading her into the space between times.

"Sharmin…Sharmin don't." Ferrol's voice echoed through the dark haze of the between world, and she felt herself drifting back to the present. She screamed at her consciousness to ignore him, but the spell had already been broken. She came back to herself in the next instant, and found Ferrol staring into her eyes with his hands on her cheeks. "Sharmin, you can't let yourself go. This thing has happened for a reason; if you try to change the past now you might make the present fall into chaos." Ferrol said evenly without blinking. Sharmin sobbed as his words brought her out of her power, and let her tears come. Ferrol made a sympathetic noise and hugged Sharmin close, petting her hair and shushing her like a child.

"We'll send search parties for his ship, Sharmin, don't worry. Perhaps they hit a storm on the way to Giran and they're just drifting, there's no other explanation as to why he didn't arrive yet." Sir Collin said, patting her on her shoulder. Sharmin shut her eyes as more tears fell, and sobbed against Ferrol's shoulder. Gatz was gone…and Sharmin was helpless.

The weeks slowly rolled by after that. Sir Collin silently contacted Leon and Sir Cedric in Aden, and they sent out parties to scour the waters between Talking Island and Giran. It had to be done discreetly, and by paying off mercantile ships to alter their courses slightly. Sir Collin stated that it would've turned the political affair of Gludio Territory into one of turmoil if it became known by the other Lords that the Governor of Talking Island was missing. They couldn't even risk bringing Ryonai into it.

Sharmin attempted to keep things going in Talking Island with the guidance of Leandro, Sir Collin's former, and now Gatz's secretary. This lasted as long as it could however, Sharmin could not forge Gatz's signature properly for tax bills, and soon the Manor Manager from Gludio Castle paid the Governor's office a visit to investigate.

He was a snake of a man, thin and lean with a thin, short pointed beard on his face that he would stroke and twirl. His rich brown, puff-sleeved coat sagged on his shoulders, and he wore a ring on almost every finger of both hands. He listened to Sir Collin's story of Gatz falling ill on the ship ride to Giran, and was too sick to travel home and was being cared for by his family back at Windawood manor. The Manager listened patiently as he stroked his beard, and seemed to believe the tale, but the smirk that Sharmin caught on his face as he left the Governor's office filled her with a sick sense of dread.

Several days later in Heine, Ryonai sat pensively on the Lord's Throne in the Throne Room of the inner castle. For years he'd taken to sitting there at an angle with one elbow on the arm of the ornately carved chair, thinking about everything and nothing at all. Zaren and Amari sat nearby at a grey stone table with a short stack of forms, and would glance at each other every so often after looking at Ryonai before returning to their paperwork.

The doors to the throne room opened, catching Ryonai's attention from where he stared at the patterns on the red carpet around his throne. A breathless porter ran inside, and was instantly stopped by the chamberlain. The two men exchanged words briefly, and the porter rushed out as the chamberlain hurried towards Ryonai. The dour older man leaned over Ryonai's throne and cupped his hand around his mouth to whisper in Ryonai's ear. He listened without expression for a moment, and then his eyes widened. He surged to his feet in an instant, and looked at his chamberlain in shock.

Back on Talking Island, Sharmin sat in the living room of the Governor's mansion, on the floor with both of her sons. Fitz sat on her lap as she read to them from the same book that Ferrol had been reading from the afternoon of the picnic, while Ashland played with wooden soldiers in front of the fireplace. Ferrol sat at a desk under the large picture window on the north side of the room, frowning as he tried to calculate how much property tax had been collected that month.

Sharmin's voice was cut off as a hard knock sounded on the front door, and she raised her head as she heard the housemaid gasp after opening it. The door to the living room was thrown open roughly soon after, and Sharmin and Ferrol surged to their feet quickly as a small troop of armored guards marched in. Sharmin stood protectively in front of her sons, who both clung to her legs through her skirt. Fitz began to cry in fear, and Ashland watched the men with a frightened stare.

"You can't do this!" Sharmin heard Sir Collin exclaim from behind the wall of armored bodies. A knight in bright silver armor with a short red cape emerged from behind the men, and stood at attention in front of the group.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ferrol demanded, standing next to his daughter protectively. The knight with bright armor pulled a scroll from his breastplate, and opened it with flourish.

"Sharmin Windawood, formerly Sharmin Kerr, you are hereby under arrest for your treasonous act against the King of Aden and the Church of Einhasad. You are to remain silent, and come without resistance, or we will use force to apprehend you." He stated in a loud voice. As soon as he was through, the guards moved in and grabbed her roughly, pushing Ferrol from her side. Sharmin struggled, frightened and worried for her sons who screamed in fright. Noise filled the house as Ferrol swung at one of the guards only to be slammed roughly against the wooden floor and punched once in the face. Blood gushed from his nose, and Ashland screamed shrilly at the sight. Sir Collin shouted at the silver armored knight, his face turning red as the knight ignored him completely. Sharmin's protests were silenced as a metal-plated fist connected with her gut, and she doubled over, the air knocked from her.

"On what charge is this arrest being made?" a new voice asked in a commanding tone, drowning out the others. Sharmin looked up weakly as the wall of armored men in front of her parted, and all heads turned as Ryonai walked into the room slowly. He wore his gold and bronze armor that he received as a gift for his participation in the war against Elmore, a sign of his ranking as a Phoenix Knight.

"Lord Innadril, this is a matter above you, you cannot interfere." The silver armored knight said in a voice devoid of emotion. Ryonai shot him a glare, and then glanced around at the guards detaining Sharmin and Ferrol. Sharmin's sons had retreated to a corner of the room, and Ashland hugged Fitz in fright. Both boys sniffled and whimpered in fear, their faces soaked with tears. His eyes widened with rage as he saw how Sharmin slumped, and he glared at the faces around him.

"Which one of you hurt Sharmin?" he demanded, stepping into the room. When none of them answered, he grabbed the first one by the chain mail shirt beneath his armor and pulled him close to his face. "I asked you which one of you hurt Sharmin? What charge has given you the right to hurt her and her family?" he shouted. He trembled with rage, first from finding Sharmin and her family in such a state, but secondly because he wasn't notified of Gatz's disappearance sooner.

"Sharmin Windawood is being charged with treason for abandoning her duties and vows as a Paladin. A charge you should be wary of as well, Sir Ladd. You _are_ out of your territory where your own laws protect you." a man's voice came. Ryonai looked over his shoulder as a new person entered the room, this one a man with short brown hair cropped close to his head, and wearing white and gold plated armor. Ryonai released the guard as the man came to stop in the center of the room next to the silver-armored knight. He smiled at Sir Collin, whom stared at this newcomer as if he were seeing a ghost. All of the color had drained from his face, and he suddenly looked like a frail old man in armor much too big for him.

"What authority do you have to press these charges?" Ryonai demanded angrily, stepping in close to the white-armored man menacingly. The man smiled darkly at Ryonai, and pulled a sealed sheet from his own breastplate.

"Sharmin Windawood was protected from her treasonous act only until a new Governor came to power. Her husband has been missing for a month, and by law of the Church of Aden, that declares him legally dead." The new man began.

"No…" Sharmin pleaded weakly, tears springing to her eyes immediately. "He's not dead…" she sniffled. The man ignored her and opened the sealed parchment, and handed it to Sir Collin.

"There you have it then, Ashland isn't old enough to be Governor yet, and only a Windawood can take the position…" Ferrol said in a pained voice from where he was pinned on the floor. Sharmin looked to Sir Collin hopefully, the feeling fluttering away as the older man shut his eyes.

"There is a new Governor…me." The new man stated with his dark smile. "I'm very pleased to meet you all, my name is Alex Windawood._ Sir_ Alex Windawood to be precise. I'm the real son of Sir Collin." Sharmin and Ferrol's faces went slack with this news, and they both looked at Sir Collin again.

"It's true…" the man said in a low voice, nearly too soft to be heard. "It's been almost twenty years since your mother left with you, I didn't expect to reunite with you in this way…"his voice grew hard, and he turned a stony glare on his estranged son.

"Life's a bitch, isn't it father?" Alex said with a smirk. "And as the new Governor, I want this treasonous scum as far from my family as possible. She is no longer a Windawood as of this day." The protests began anew as the guards moved to drag Sharmin out. The room was silenced again as the sound of paper being slammed upon a table caught everyone's attention.

"And by legally binding wish of her husband, Sharmin was made my wife the day the church declared him dead." Ryonai said with a triumphant smile. The faces of Sharmin, Ferrol and Sir Collin went slack with this, and they stared at him as if he was a creature that had emerged from a well. Alex frowned with this news and rushed across the room where Ryonai had slammed the paper he'd pulled from his shoulder guard to read it. His eyes moved as he scanned the paper, and he shut them in frustration.

"This paper is a fraud." He said in a controlled voice. Desperation crept into it despite his obvious attempt at keeping it out.

"Is it really? Is this not the personal seal of a Windawood at the bottom of the paper?" Ryonai said, taking the paper and shaking it. The silver-armored knight stepped forward this time and took the paper from Ryonai. Glancing at the desk, he reached out and took an old bill from the top of the stack of papers there, and compared.

"This is his seal, you can't forge these." The knight stated, putting both papers back on the desk. He turned back to the guards and waved his hand. They released Sharmin and let up on pinning Ferrol to the ground to stand at attention. "I will report your marriage to Sharmin and announce that she is now Lady Ladd-Innadril to the church." The knight stated. He glanced at Ryonai slightly over his shoulder, but did not turn to look at him fully. "But be aware, Lord Innadril…the safety of your laws is merely a thin blanket in the eyes of the Church of Einhasad." He spoke in a somber voice, as if regretful for some future action not yet happened. He and the knights exited after that, and Sharmin collapsed to the floor next to her father, where she started applying a heal spell to his face.

"You forged this somehow, there was no will left behind." Alex hissed, glaring at the Innadril Lord. The paper Ryonai had presented to him appeared to be written by Gatz's hand, and declared Ryonai Sharmin's husband in lieu of his death. Ryonai's eyebrows rose in interest, and he gave the man in front of him a cocky smile.

"Perhaps he just didn't leave a will where you could find it." Ryonai stated cheerfully. Turning away from the look of rage creeping into Sir Alex's expression, he knelt beside Sharmin. She looked up at him and dissolved into tears as soon as their eyes met, and abandoned healing her father to collapse onto him in a hug. "You're ok now, you're safe." He said gently, stroking her hair. He pressed his mouth against the top of her head in a shadow of a kiss, and then looked at her sons still cowering in the corner. "Let's get everyone packed up…take anything you wish…so we can get out of here and let this asshole enjoy being Governor." He stated in a sarcastic voice. Alex clenched a fist and took a step towards Ryonai, only to have Sir Collin place a restraining hand on him.

"You've won and secured your position, isn't that enough?" Collin asked in a hard voice. Alex stared at him for a moment, and then pointedly turned his glare onto Ashland in the corner.

"Not secured." He growled, staring at the boy. Ashland jumped to his feet in an instant and dashed to his mother where he buried his head against her waist. Fitz toddled after him with a frightened cry, and collapsed onto Sharmin's lap too. Ryonai glared at him back, challenging him silently. He was lucky that Amari and Zaren were masters at forgery right down to a seal…he wouldn't have made it there in time otherwise.

To Sharmin's shock and surprise, she found Vlad waiting patiently for them by the Gatekeeper as she; Ferrol and the boys exited the house with their luggage. She went into a battle stance out of habit as he approached, but then blinked in shock as he merely gave her a half smile and picked up an end of a trunk she'd dragged out. He dragged the trunk to a recently made magic circle on the ground, one Sharmin recognized as being the same runic circle on a gatekeeper scroll. The Village Gatekeeper herself stood by the circle and tapped her foot impatiently as Vlad began loading their luggage onto it.

"S'always good to have some money, it gets things done quicker." Ryonai stated with a grin as he exited the house with the last of Sharmin's belongings. Other than a few personal articles, Sharmin wasn't allowed to take anything of Gatz's until Gludio Castle had thoroughly scoured it first. Without being able to take furniture as well, she had very little to call her own. Her sons had more toys than she and Ferrol had of belongings.

"When did he get back and what happened to him?" Sharmin whispered loudly, leaning close to Ryonai. She motioned to Vlad, who was listening intently as Ferrol spoke with him enthusiastically. Ryonai gave her a thin-lipped smile, and shook his head.

"He came back recently, and I couldn't tell you what happened to him, he hasn't spoken of it. More than likely it's the result of having that demon sword…he's lucky it magically formed armor on him or they'd know who he was and be after him too." He responded in a low voice. "Come on, it's time to go." He said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. Holding Fitz on her hip on one side and Ashland's hand on the other, Sharmin stepped away from the house and turned to look at it one last time. Although it had become her home, Sharmin didn't feel remotely sad about being forced out of it. No, most of her grief was to leave the last bit of her childhood behind- the tree that Sir Collin had planted on the foundation of her childhood home. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, Sharmin turned and glanced over the roofs of the houses in front of her. She could just barely make out the top of the tree, and she glanced away before she would cry.

"I hate this village." Ryonai muttered as she joined him next to the Gatekeeper. "I don't know how you could stand being here this long, after everything that's happened." He looked down at her without expression, and Sharmin avoided his eyes.

"It's easier living here than it would be in Oren." She said softly, her hand tightening around Ashland's smaller one. Ryonai gave her another small smile, and slipped an arm across her shoulders in a comforting motion. Ashland caught sight of it, and glared up at Ryonai.

"Only my daddy can do that." He said in a childishly dark voice. Both Sharmin and Ryonai looked down at him in surprise, as the boy hadn't said much since Ryonai's arrival. Sharmin blinked into the air as the days events suddenly hit her, and she looked up at Ryonai with large eyes.

"Gatz wouldn't leave a will like that, not without telling me…"She suddenly said, looking at Ryonai as if she were seeing him for the first time. His ears turned pink as she stared at him, and he held a finger up to his lips in a quieting motion.

"It was a verbal wish if they ever came down on you for abandoning your post as a Paladin if something had happened to him…lets just say the paperwork was a clever guise of Dark Elven magic." He grinned. He rubbed her shoulder in a comforting motion as a tearful look crossed her face, and glanced down at Ashland as the boy glared at him again. They faded from existence a moment later as the Gatekeeper cast her spell taking Sharmin, her belongings and her family to their new home in Innadril Castle.

It was overwhelming the first few days in Heine; Sharmin had never honestly been inside of the castle past the throne room where Narlafayn's wedding had been held. Suddenly everyone was referring to her as royalty, and her children as heirs. Hara and Ren, who were only a pregnancy's worth of months older than Ashland, were ecstatic to have playmates other than Ryonai's youngest sisters and their cousins for the first time. Ashland and Ren became best friends quickly, and left Fitz and Hara racing after them in protest, trying to get the boys to let them in on their games well.

Sharmin, and even Ferrol, had new duties given to them by the chamberlain the first day they were there. It seemed everyone close to Ryonai in the castle knew of the ruse the Innadril Lord had created, and were all doing their part to make it seem real. Ashland was immediately enrolled in the preschool courses of Haibane's new academy, and even Fitz had to sit down with a governess to begin expanding his tiny mind with blocks and puzzles.

The biggest change that Sharmin had trouble adapting to was the most important part of her fake marriage with Ryonai…sharing a bed with him. The first night after she arrived in Innadril, once the day's activities were over and the children finally asleep, they both stood near the door of the bedroom staring at the oversized bed as if they'd never seen it before. She looked at Ryonai with large eyes, and he glanced away from her and laughed nervously.

"Well…I could take the floor…" he offered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. She stared at him for a moment longer, and then whipped her attention back to the bed. Putting on a determined face, Sharmin marched over to the changing screen at the corner of the room, quickly stripped out of her clothes and into the longest, most modest nightgown she owned. Not hesitating a moment lest she think about it too much and get nervous, she marched back over to the massive canopy bed, pulled back the covers on what she hoped wasn't Ryonai's side, and hopped in.

"Just don't kick me in your sleep." She stated, pulling the covers high to her ears. "Good night." She added, shutting her eyes. Astonished, Ryonai could only stare at her for several minutes before recovering with a smile.

"That's the Fish Face I remember." He grinned, walking to the changing screen himself. Sharmin lifted her head to glare at him, and his grin widened. "I usually sleep naked you know…" he began, peeking around the screen to watch her reaction. He snickered as he saw her pale, and then flop back onto the bed and pull the sheet over her head. "…but since this is our first sleepover, I'll wear something." He finished. He laughed to himself as she uncovered her head with this, and stared at the heavy curtains covering the top of the bed in obvious relief. It was comforting, after everything he'd been through, to see that she hadn't changed over the years.

As he moved across the room to the bed, Ryonai's eyes widened slightly as his heart was hit with a peculiar sensation. It began to thud loudly in a kind of anticipation anxiety that he hadn't felt in a long time. He paused mid-step and stared at Sharmin's back which was facing him, suddenly overcome with nervousness. He could almost see Vuylay laying where she was, and his stomach tied in knots.

Sensing that he hadn't moved for some time, Sharmin lifted her head and glanced over her shoulder at him, and gave him a curious look. "Is something wrong?" she asked, her brow knitting together. Ryonai was staring at her strangely, and she didn't like it. He cleared his throat after a moment, and finished his trek across the room to the bed, where he quickly pulled the covers on his own side back and laid down.

"It's nothing." He said quickly, lying on his side so his back faced her. She watched him for another moment and then shrugged and lay down again. She shifted until she was comfortable, and shut her eyes. _This is Fish Face…we used to sleep over at each others houses when we were kids…_ Ryonai repeated over and over to himself in his head. Adrenaline surged through his veins, and he resisted the urge to toss and turn, cursing at himself for no longer being tired.

"So um…I'm sorry if I'm preventing you from having a girl you really want in your bed…" Sharmin's voice came in the darkness. It was awkward and hesitant, and Ryonai frowned at it.

"What makes you think I have women I want in my bed?" he questioned, rolling over slightly to look at her. She hunched her shoulders, and Ryonai could feel humiliation seep out of her.

"I just thought…you know…being you and all…that you'd have lots of girlfriends…" she tried to say. Ryonai snorted lightly through his nose and rolled back to face the balcony door.

"No, that me died a long time ago. You're the first woman who's been in my bed since…"his voice drifted, choked off by a lump in his throat. He winced and shook his head rapidly, both confused and embarrassed by his reaction. There wasn't any reason for him to still be grieving, not three years after the fact, and especially not just because there was someone else in his bed. Vuylay left him, he shouldn't care anymore…he told himself.

His eyes widened as he felt Sharmin press against his back in an innocent, silent request for comfort. He rolled over slightly to find her staring at him, her expression nothing but the purest sympathy. He gave her a half smile, and patted her head like she were a child before settling on his side once more.

"Don't look at me like that Fish Face, I'm ok." He said in the brightest voice he could muster. Embarrassment swam around her again, and he sighed quietly into the air. He said nothing more to her after that, and eventually she returned to the far side of the bed, putting as much distance as she could between them. _I guess I could've at least hugged her a little…_ he thought to himself, almost regretting not accepting her sympathetic snuggle. He knew that she was just acting out from relief of escaping jail and loneliness from Gatz's disappearance, and would regret her actions if he allowed her to cuddle next to him. That was Sharmin's way, acting on the impulse of the moment but regretting it later.

It was late at night when Ryonai was startled awake from a dream about Vuylay. He saw with his unconscious eye a pit of flame, and Vuylay bleeding to death on the edge of it. He sat up with a start, panting into the darkness, sweat causing his sheet to stick to him like another skin. He blinked as he sensed a presence near him, and looked down to find Sharmin close to him again on her back, sound asleep.

"Gatz…" she said with a little sob, a tear slipping out from underneath her closed eye. She sighed and rolled onto her side, facing him, her breath even and deep. Ryonai gave her sleeping form a half smile, and slowly settled next to her again.

"Stupid Fish Face…" Ryonai said softly, lying on his side, facing her. "You make me want to protect you, you stupid, stupid girl." He wiped the tear from her face with a gentle caress from his hand, and then watched her until sleep finally claimed him as well.

Two weeks after her arrival at Heine, Ryonai and Sharmin sat in the Throne Room, listening to the Chamberlain read reports of damage to travelers incurred by attacking Nos from Alligator Island. The Chamberlain requested that a mercenary group be sent to the Island to try and extinguish the Nos population once and for all, but Ryonai currently had a shaky trade deal set up with the Swamp Tribe. They would turn over the skins and teeth of their criminals and unclaimed dead; in return he would give them cattle for food. The Nos weren't a part of the Swamp Tribe proper, but if they caught sight of a mercenary group in their territory killing off their kin, his treaty would be broken and Heine would face a large scale gator attack.

The Chamberlain's voice was interrupted as the doors to the throne room were thrown open with force, and everyone, including the two Dark Elves sitting at their table with paperwork, stopped what they were doing to look at the newcomers.

Sharmin shifted in her chair as if to bolt as the angry form of the Head Priest from Aden's Church as he came marching towards her. She'd only dealt with the man a few times, but he seemed predispositioned to dislike her due to the fact that her mother was his most valued Priestess and Ferrol tarnished her purity by impregnating her with Sharmin. Ferrol, seated at the table with Amari and Zaren, stood as the Priest approached. Ryonai reached out and closed his hand over Sharmin's, freezing her to her spot. She looked at him in shock, surprised at his motion, but he watched the approaching priest intently.

"He's under arrest, detain him." The Priest stated to the two guards flanking him. Two Mages stood behind the guards, and surveyed the Throne Room without expression. Both Sharmin and Ryonai stood as the guards moved towards Ferrol, who jumped back in preparation to defend himself.

"Call back your guards or I will sic Amari on you. You have no authority in my territory." Ryonai said loudly. Amari, the head priest and the pair of guards froze mid-movement, and turned to look at Ryonai, aghast. Zaren, the only one still seated, snorted loudly and lowered his head quickly to hide it with his hand against the table.

"Me? Why me? Why would I have to do a guard's dirty work?" Amari asked in protest. He narrowed his eyes into thin lines as Ryonai flashed him a quick, innocently oblivious expression, before returning to his authoritative glare. "I'm getting to old for this…" he muttered, raising his hand to massage his forehead.

"That man is a wanted criminal for his disgrace against Einhasad. Not even your laws can protect him." The head priest spat as his guards returned to their places behind him. Ryonai sighed heavily and leaned an elbow on the arm of his chair.

"Ferrol was cleared of his charges three years ago, weren't you notified?" Ryonai asked, bored. "First Sharmin and now Ferrol, don't you guys have anything better to do? Some real sinners to condemn to hellfire or something?" he waved his hand as he spoke in blatant dismissal of the men in front of him, and the head priest's face turned red.

"Governor Alex Windawood has sent out a formal statement retracting any decisions made by the late Governor Windawood. This includes the clearing of Ferrol Kuhn, and the charges of religious treason that were issued upon that born in sin creature sitting to your right in Giran, and her so-called marriage to you." he snarled. Sharmin gasped softly in fear, and then blinked rapidly as Ryonai's hand squeezed hers in reassurance. He still stared at the head priest, and Sharmin blushed as she realized that he was attuned to her emotions even while conducting business. She heard him whisper in her head the same words he'd spoken after saving her from Sir Alex; _it's all right, you're safe_. Her blush spread, and she glanced down to her hand clenched in her lap.

"My laws state that unless there is significant proof, any so-called criminal from other territories is safe here. Even the branch of the Einhasad church here signed the contract stating that they would abide by this law as long as known criminals did not enter their grounds. Sharmin and Ferrol have not set foot within the Church of Einhasad while here, and the legal paperwork making Sharmin my wife has already been filed." He said smoothly without batting an eye. "In conclusion, you have no more power here, and I'll have to ask you to leave before I have my guards escort you out." He finished, sitting back in his chair. Amari, Zaren and Ferrol all stared at Ryonai in shock, and Amari clapped quietly and mouthed 'bravo'. The priest did not move from his spot however, and instead grinned darkly at Ryonai.

"The church has not accepted your paperwork I'm afraid…you see we can't have a castle lord married to two women at once…" the priest began. Sharmin looked up at Ryonai with large eyes, and his face darkened.

"My wife was declared dead three years ago, we both know the church's one month decree. I'm no longer married." He said in a low voice. It shook as he tried to control his temper, and Sharmin's brow knitted in worry. Vuylay was still such a sensitive issue with him; it pained her heart to see him trying to hide his grief over her disappearance.

"Ah, haven't you heard? The law was changed earlier this week. Now unless there is a body or witness seeing their death, the missing person is no longer considered dead by the church. To marry someone else, you must file a formal divorce request, to which we shall review and judge if you are eligible for one." The priest said in an oily tone. As he spoke, Ryonai released Sharmin's hand and surged to his feet, his eyes large as he tried to suppress his rage.

"Ryonai…" Amari warned softly from his table. He knew Ryonai's temper could get the best of him, and he knew that if the Phoenix Knight laid even a hair upon the head priest, not even his carefully crafted laws would help him get out of the wrath of the Church of Einhasad.

"You can't change the law as it pleases you…" Ryonai hissed, balling his fists at his sides. The head priest chuckled low in his throat, and motioned to his mages.

"The request for the law change was not brought on from the church, but a universal decree from the other castle lords and their subsidiaries." He smirked. "However, since you submitted your marriage form before the law came into play, we must kindly ask you to prove your marriage is real, and not just a clever Lord's ploy to save his childhood friend." With a wave of his hand, both mages conjured up a small ball of light and flung them towards Sharmin and Ryonai. They disappeared inside of them in an instant, and the pair stared at the priest in shock. A light-headed feeling suddenly hit Sharmin, and she buried her face in her hands.

"How DARE you come in here and cast magic upon us!" Ryonai raged, stepping off of his throne and towards the priest. The Priest's guards stepped around the man they were contracted to protect with swords drawn, and crossed them in front of Ryonai to keep him from advancing further. Zaren, no longer sitting at the table, drew his own sword and held it under the chin of the priest, who gasped in shock as he didn't realize Zaren had moved so close to him.

"Why Lord Innadril, you can't be mad for us just casting a simple interrogation spell that will help clear this little mess up for you, can you?" the priest stated nervously, trying to hold his superiority air. "It will simply prove to us that you and Mrs. Windawood are honestly married…it shouldn't be hard to sleep with your own wife, now should it?" Zaren's eyes widened slightly and he looked to Ryonai without lowering his sword. He, like everyone else in the castle knew that Ryonai hadn't touched Sharmin at all, and had no plans to.

"That is none of your business." Ryonai snarled. The priest shrugged and gently put a finger on the tip of Zaren's sword to lower it from his neck.

"What's done is done; it's not a spell we can retract. Just do what comes natural to a husband and wife and we'll be out of your territory…for now." He said, his oily tone of voice returning. "And if perhaps…just perhaps…that you two are just feigning the marriage, I'm afraid that Lady Sharmin there will…shall we say…repent for her treasonous acts without us even laying a finger upon her." Sharmin's head flew up and she stared at the head priest, her face pale. He smiled darkly at her as she began to shake, and then he turned away from them. "Well then…so long." The priest said with a mock respectful bow. He and his mages and guards exited without being told then, leaving Ryonai fuming and angry behind him.

"Sharmin, what's wrong?" Ferrol's voice came through the haze of anger that had descended over Ryonai's mind. Ryonai turned to look at Sharmin, who was suddenly doubled over in her chair with her hand over her mouth. Sweat beaded on her face, and her skin looked like paraffin. Ferrol had rushed to her side, and currently knelt next to her, his face creased with worry. Frowning, Ryonai took a step towards her, his gaze intent on her. Did that stupid priest's spell already take effect? Was he just lying and trying to kill them both outright? Sharmin jumped up from her chair next to the throne in the next instant, and raced out of the throne room with her hand over her mouth.

"Sharmin…" Ferrol breathed, his eyes large.

Sharmin didn't return to the throne room after that, and as soon as things had calmed down, Ryonai abandoned it as well. He slowly made his way to the Lord's bedroom where he was sure Sharmin had run, and gazed around curiously as he found it empty. A watery sniffle met his ears from inside the indoor bathhouse, and Ryonai made his way towards it. He pushed the heavy oak door open slowly, the hinges creaking softly as the door swung, and entered hesitantly. Sharmin sat on the floor in front of the toilet, her skin pale with a green hue, and leaning heavily on the bowl as if exhausted. She glanced up at Ryonai wearily as he entered, a tearful expression crossing her face as he neared and crouched next to her.

"I'm pregnant." She sobbed, tears streaming down an already soaked face.


	10. Chapter 9

Nearly an hour later, Sharmin and Ryonai sat on the edge of the bed, Sharmin finally well enough to be helped out of the bathroom. She and Ryonai stared out at nothing in a daze, and spoke little for a long stretch of time. Ryonai finally cleared his throat after a bit, the weight of the spell the head priest had cast upon him and the lateness of the night pressing down on him.

"This can work in our favor…we can just pretend the baby is mine." Ryonai said, his ears turning pink. Sharmin slowly turned her head to look at him, her expression weary and tired. "I mean…it's obviously you and Gatz's child…but if it's what it takes for them to believe that we're married, then we can use it." Sharmin perked up slightly as hope flared to life in her eyes, and she looked at him fully.

"So that means the spell will register that?" she asked brightly. Her hope quickly melted away as Ryonai's ears turned from pink to red, and he averted her gaze.

"I don't think it'll work that way…" he admitted hesitantly, clasping and unclasping his hands together nervously. "God, damn them for doing this, damn them!" he exclaimed in frustration, and stood. He wandered to the balcony doorway and leaned his elbow heavily on the door frame, and his head against his hand. "If only you weren't so in love with Gatz…then I could seduce you and be done with this without a second thought…but I can't." Sharmin felt her heart squeeze as he stared out at the ocean through the glass doors with a pained expression, and suddenly felt inspired to cross the room. Ryonai's eyes widened in surprise as Sharmin's arms slipped around his torso from behind, and he felt her press her head against his back. His breath came out in a shuddering sigh despite his best efforts at keeping himself calm, and he placed one of his hands over hers. Sharmin's heart involuntarily skipped a beat at the sound of his sigh, and suddenly her limbs felt heavy.

"I have a power…one that is hard to explain…" Sharmin began softly, shutting her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat through his back, "…but I can fix things in the past if I wish, to change the present." She opened her eyes slightly as Ryonai held his breath as he listened to her intently.

"How much can you change?" Ryonai asked in a hushed voice, his heart thudding loudly. She knew instinctively that he was thinking of Vuylay's disappearance, and she swallowed against a lump forming in her throat.

"Not much anymore…not since Emixia gave her life so you wouldn't have to die." She said, pressing her face against his back as tears stung her eyes again. Ryonai stared at his reflection in the window of the balcony, thick black clouds churning in the sky on the other side. Lightning danced through them, illuminating the dark room briefly with light. "During the war with Elmore, when you fought the former Dame of this castle, originally her sword found that hole Narlafayn had made with her power." Ryonai's throat tightened; Sharmin's words were nonsensical to him, words of a woman gone mad, but yet somehow…he knew there was truth in what she said. He didn't know how, but he could almost remember what she spoke of. She squeezed him tighter, and sniffled loudly. "You told me that you loved me…that you always loved me…and then you died in my arms. I would've chosen you then; if it would've saved you and Emixia…I would've chosen you long ago if it would've kept you from having the sad face that you have now." She hiccuped. The pain in his eyes had become too much for her to bear the weeks she'd been living in the castle. Ryonai still yearned for his wife, for someone to love, and her heart hurt at that. She still loved Gatz, but she was finding it hard to not reach out to comfort Ryonai at the same time.

"You stupid girl…you've always known my secret." He said in a soft, hoarse voice. Her eyes opened again as she heard the thudding of his heart start anew, and blinked in surprise as he jerked away from her. She looked into his face with large eyes as he grabbed her roughly by her arms, and then gasped lightly in shock through her nose as he kissed her. At first she tried hard not to recoil due to the guilt that had sprung to life inside of her, but in the end she relaxed and shyly kissed him in return. She knew that to save her life, and the life of the child- Gatz's child- inside of her, she had to give into this, at least only once. A devilish voice whispered in her ear and taunted her that she wouldn't be able to resist him after this…that it wasn't just going to be once.

Ryonai cupped her cheeks with his hands and broke the kiss to breathe, his breath heavy against her lips as he kept them only a hair's width apart. "In this room…there is no past or future…there is only now." He said breathlessly, slowly pushing on her and forcing her to walk backwards. She held onto his waist as they moved, afraid she would stumble and fall over her own dress if she didn't have balance. "In this room…there is only us, and what happens here shall never be known elsewhere." He kissed her again and reached around to the back of her dress, where he began expertly unlacing her corset. Sharmin blushed as she realized he was a master at removing women's clothing, and tried to remember to politely remove his in return. Gatz would end up frustrated with trying to remove her clothing and end up leaving half of it on her when they were truly desperate for one another; it was something different to have someone who knew what they were doing.

Her dress fell loose like a nightgown as soon as the corset was free from her body, and Ryonai kept her locked in a kiss as he quickly began undressing himself. Panic washed through her as she realized he was undressed in moments and pushing her down onto the bed. Her heart screamed at her to stop, it only wanted Gatz for an act like this…Ryonai was her old friend, the bully from her childhood that would make her cry…he wasn't her lover, Gatz was...only Gatz!

Her voice did not come however, and soon Ryonai was pushing her dress from her body with a soft whisper of material as it slid from the bed and onto the floor. She laid stretched out on the mattress, and blushed as Ryonai hovered over her to gaze at her entire body. She covered her breasts with her arms and crossed her legs, and glanced away from him. His gaze was hungry, and was the look of a man starved too long without relief. His hair fell over one eye as he looked down at her, giving him a very mysterious appearance that made Sharmin's heart flutter.

"You're more beautiful than I could ever have imagined." He said huskily, staring straight into her eyes. Sharmin's heart pounded with this, and the shrill protesting voice in her heart silenced itself. "Show me…" he commanded gently, shifting his weight onto one arm and coaxing her arms to move from covering her breasts with the other. Her blush deepening in shade, Sharmin glanced away from him again and slowly lowered her arms from her breasts as lightning illuminated the room again.

Her eyes shifted to her toes, where she involuntarily caught sight of his own nudity as he gazed at her chest for the first time. His manhood throbbed as she glanced at it, and she quickly returned her eyes to Ryonai's face with an even deeper shade of red gracing her cheeks.

Ryonai smirked at her with a drowsy expression, knowing exactly what she'd caught sight of. Her reaction was so innocent and pure, it washed away any lingering guilt he was having about bedding his best friend's wife. Sharmin was going to be his, the first girl he ever developed strong feelings for, and he was going to have her.

He acted gently with her, keenly aware of the awkwardness between them at first. It dissolved swifter than he would've imagined, and soon a feeling settled over the both of them, as if they'd been married for years._ So this is a human…_he thought, kissing away from her mouth and down her neck. With manly pride but moral embarrassment, Ryonai could boast that he'd had a woman from every known race—except Dwarf. As much as he'd grown to love each of them, he knew he would forever remember Sharmin as being the one that felt the best; the one that felt natural. This feeling intensified as release neared, and then whisked the both of them away.

A glow surrounded the both of them after, and they opened their eyes as the silky peace of release washed over them. Two green orbs sprung from their bodies and hovered overhead for a moment. They watched as the magic conjured light hovered about the room and then raced through the balcony and out into the stormy night. Ryonai let out a short laugh of relief, and then collapsed fully onto Sharmin.

"I guess that will satisfy them." He said breathlessly. He smiled slightly as Sharmin snuggled closer to him, and reveled in the feel of how she still twitched around him. He withdrew as he rolled off of her, and hugged her close as she tried to escape to the other side of the bed in embarrassment. "What's the matter?" he asked as she buried her face against his chest. He frowned as he realized she was crying, hot tears wetting his skin as she sniffled.

"I enjoyed it too much." She wept. Ryonai laughed aloud at her and hugged her with both arms.

"You and me both." He said with a smile, kissing the top of her head. She looked up at him and sniffled, and he cupped her cheek with one hand to wipe under her eye with his thumb.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked childishly. Ryonai smiled and raised his eyebrows in interest, waiting for her to continue. Sharmin blushed furiously, and glanced away from him quickly. "I might want it again." She said quickly, in a voice barely above a whisper. Ryonai feigned glancing around the room, and then pulled her up so that her ear was close to his mouth.

"Me too." He whispered huskily. Sharmin's eyes widened and she blushed a deeper shade. A tiny smile touched her face finally, and she settled in next to him. They were finding comfort in one another for now, but her heart still yearned for Gatz, and she knew his still pined for Vuylay. _I'll find him soon…_she told herself, and shut her eyes as sleep wafted over her.

Several nights later, Sharmin dreamt for the first time in a long time. She saw once again the strange world that Narlafayn had grown up in, the world of Vana'diel where she herself had been trapped for two years of time in this world. She saw the cat-girl she'd befriended, the girl who was Komugi's shadow in that world; the one that she thought she'd taken with her when she crossed back into this world. Kalline was nowhere to be found when she awoke however, and Sharmin worried for nearly a year that she'd been dropped elsewhere. Her intuition told her that was not the case, and the anxiety was forgotten quickly.

This time in her dream, Kalline sat in front of her smiling, and saying nothing. Sharmin was instantly hit with a yearning to see Komugi, as it had been nearly two years since she'd visited with her younger sister. Kalline stood up and approached Sharmin with a smile, and then collapsed upon her in a tight hug.

"Soon…Soon I'll see you again!" she said happily, nuzzling against Sharmin's neck. Sharmin woke as she turned her head to look down at the girl in shock, and stared at the curtain of the canopy bed in surprise. She blinked once, slowly, as sleep faded. Ryonai shifted and sighed next to her, and rolled onto his side, catching her attention briefly. It was still something she was getting adjusted to, but it seemed to be a great relief to her old friend to be able to hold and touch someone as he was no longer shy about doing to her. Their act a few nights prior seemed to satisfy the Church of Aden, as they hadn't returned after that. Still her heart ached for Gatz; Ryonai's comfort only satisfied her physical loneliness.

Scooting across the bed, Sharmin grabbed a robe from the end of it and pulled it on as she stood up. Padding silently across the room, she opened her dresser as quietly as she could and pulled out the tiny black velvet bag that Komugi had given her when she first left. With it in hand she tiptoed across the room and into the bathhouse, where she shut the door as quietly as she could. After lighting a candle, she sat on the side of the stone bathtub, and reached into the bag. She made a disgusted face as she felt something cold and slimy wriggling around in her hand as she withdrew it, and yelped and dropped it as soon as she saw it was a black slug. It writhed on the floor until Sharmin found her courage to pick it up again.

"Um…I want to see Komugi." She told it, remembering Komugi's command when she first gave her the bag. It stopped moving, snapped to an elongated shape as if rigormortis had settled into it, and before Sharmin's eyes began to bubble and churn. It grew hot in her hand and she dropped it with another yelp, lifting her feet off of the floor as it splattered and spread like a black pool. From its center rose a wooden doll Sharmin remembered being called a Sairon, a doll that usually roamed the caverns on Devil's Isle. Unlike the other Sairon's who had short blonde hair cut in a childish bob style, this one had a head of pink hair that touched the doll's shoulders.

The black pool underneath it receded, leaving it standing in the middle of the bathhouse. Its eyes glowed red, which faded in and out of blackness like a lighthouse's light. Sharmin stared at it for a long five minute stretch of time, before hesitantly placing her feet back on the polished stone floor. She glanced around the bathhouse curiously, unsure how this doll was supposed to bring her to Komugi, or Komugi to her.

"You have really bad timing, you know." Komugi's voice suddenly came, irritated. Sharmin jumped as the pink-haired Sairon's head whirred as it spun once and came to a stop looking at her. "Well? What did you want? I was in the middle of having …"

"Komugi?" Sharmin interrupted, her voice shocked as she realized it was coming from the doll. The doll was silent for a moment, and Sharmin blinked at it once. She tensed again as Komugi sighed heavily.

"I forgot, your brain can't fathom dark magic." She grumbled. "Don't worry Sharmin, I'm not inside the doll, it's just relaying images and sounds to me and I'm giving it my voice." She said in a tone one uses for an annoying child. The Sairon's head spun again to return it to facing forward, and the doll turned away from her. "Hey, this isn't your bathroom…where are we?" she asked curiously. The doll reached a hand up to pat the ornately carved oak towel closet, and Sharmin could almost see Komugi's eyes large with wonder.

"Innadril Castle, this is the Lord's bathhouse." Sharmin mumbled, suddenly embarrassed. The Sairon's head spun to look at Sharmin again, and she could almost see Komugi giving her a stunned look.

"Ryonai's place? Why are we here?" she asked, the doll's head spinning back. She shuffled across the room to inspect the other side, the doll's glowing eyes casting enough light to illuminate the bathroom in small patches. Sharmin took a breath and began relaying the events up until that point as the Komugi-Sairon wandered around the bathroom inspecting everything curiously. Sharmin winced and glanced up at the doll as she finished, readying herself for a violent retaliation from her sister. The doll had stopped moving however, and stood in the corner of the bathroom with her back facing Sharmin.

"Komugi?" Sharmin asked, slipping off the side of the bathtub. She took one tentative step towards the doll, and jerked back quickly as it turned around to face her.

"Why didn't you contact me sooner?" she asked in a soft voice. Sharmin blinked several times, surprised by her lack of reaction. Guilt gnawed at her stomach with the tone of Komugi's voice, and she glanced away from the doll uneasily.

"I didn't want to trouble you…" she began. She gasped and jumped as the doll suddenly pressed its hands to the sides of its head and let out a frustrated scream. "Komugi!" Sharmin hissed, rushing across the bathroom to the door. She opened it a crack and peered out, her heart thudding as she stared hard at the bed. Ryonai didn't seem to have heard it, and merely rolled over onto his back. Sighing in relief, Sharmin shut the door quietly and turned back to the doll.

"First your rape and now this, when will you realize you don't bother me, Sharmin?" Komugi cried. The doll fell to her knees and covered her glowing eyes with her hands. Its wooden face didn't change, but Komugi was most definitely crying. Biting her own lip to keep it from trembling, Sharmin fell to her knees beside the doll and hesitantly put her arms around it. The doll fell onto her lap with a sob, and clung to her nightgown like a child as she wept. A tiny smile touched Sharmin's face; it was just like the old days when they were children. Komugi cried for a while longer, and Sharmin swore she almost heard Zaken's voice murmuring faintly from the doll as well. She finally sat up when her tears had become sniffles, and wiped at her face (even though the doll's face was dry).

"So…how was he?" Komugi asked as the doll sat back on her knees. Sharmin blinked cluelessly, and tilted her head curiously, not following the direction of Komugi's question.

"How was who?" she asked blankly. Komugi sighed heavily and motioned towards the room beyond the bathroom door.

"Ryonai of course…you said you guys are faking being married so I can only assume you took advantage of all of the 'duties' that come with it. So I'm asking you, how is he in bed?" her voice took on a mischievous tone, and Sharmin began to tremble in embarrassment.

"Komugi!" she hissed again, covering her face as to hide the blush there. Again she could hear Zaken's voice come from the doll, although she couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Oho so you DID sleep with him." She said in glee. There was a moment of silence, and then she snapped (most likely at Zaken); "Oh shut up, I'd do him too if I were in her position. Ryonai was always pretty hot." Sharmin doubled over with her embarrassment, and curled against the floor. "Wow, he was that good, huh?" Komugi stated as the doll stood, her voice trembling with laughter. "Alright get up, I won't tease you anymore." She laughed, and the doll patted Sharmin gently on the head. Sharmin pushed herself back up, and glanced away from the Komugi-Doll, too ashamed of herself to look at her fully.

"Anyway, the magic will be fading soon, so I should get going. I'll contact you again when I have some news." Komugi said in a business like tone. The doll wandered across the bathroom and towards the arched stain-glass window behind the tub. She hopped up onto the sill, and pawed at the clasp until it came free.

"News?" Sharmin asked cluelessly, standing as the doll swung the window open carefully.

"After I find Gatz of course, what other news would I have?" she stated matter-of-factually, the doll glancing over her shoulder in an almost curious manner. "Ryonai's got a good ground force looking for Gatz, I have faith in that, but my ship will find him, or some trace of him, a lot quicker. Just enjoy yourself as much as you can until I get back. Ryonai cares about you, he won't treat you, or that new adorable baby inside of you badly." The doll turned back to the window, and jumped out of it without another word. Sharmin rushed to it as the doll disappeared past the ledge, and glanced over the sill with large eyes. Below her, just feet above the ground, the doll began to spin wildly like a top, and then took off into the night sky. Sharmin smiled at the doll's figure as it became a speck in the night sky, and felt, for the first time in a long time, a great sense of relief.

Time passed quicker than Sharmin expected. Soon she was giving birth again, but in the Lord's Bed instead of her own back on Talking Island. Ryonai had brought in the best Bishop from Heine, and Sharmin had found that this birth went surprisingly easier than the other two. A girl was born to her this time, her expression so cat-like even as an infant, Sharmin knew in an instant where the cat-girl from Narlafayn's old world had gone. She _had_ crossed over with Sharmin…just in a way Sharmin had never predicted. The new baby's name was decided without much thought; Kalline.

As Sharmin held her new daughter for the first time, Ryonai suddenly pressed close and hugged both of them tightly. He pulled away from her to look in her eyes with an expression she'd only seen before on one other person close to her. Tears swam in his eyes as if he were the baby's father, and knowing filled Sharmin's being. _Soon._ She thought, drawing Ryonai down enough to kiss him boldly in front of the bishop.

The rest of the world, including the Church of Einhasad, accepted Kalline as Ryonai's daughter. Fitz was also quite happy to no longer be the baby of the family, and doted on his little sister as much as a two-year-old could. Even Hara and Ren were happy at a new prospective playmate. Ashland however, still hadn't forgiven Ryonai for taking the place of Gatz in his life, and ran to the playroom to be alone when Sharmin presented Kalline to them for the first time.

Ashland became unpredictable after that, and would do the best he could to get into trouble. At first the tutor that he shared with Hara and Ren insisted that it was just a phase that he would grow out of, but the day that Sharmin came into their nursery to find Fitz struggling underneath a pillow that Ashland was holding over his face, was the day this was put to an end. Ryonai, who hadn't stepped in a true father role out of respect for the boy's memory of Gatz, finally put his foot down and scolded the three-year-old.

"You're not my dad, you can't tell me what to do!" the boy shouted. Sharmin hugged a hiccuping Fitz close, comforting him, and gave Ryonai a helpless look. Ryonai didn't bat an eye, and leaned casually on the door frame to the nursery.

"I'm married to your mom, I think that makes me some sort of father to you." Ryonai said easily, staring down at the boy. Ashland's tiny face went pink with childish rage, and his shoulders scrunched close to his body.

"You're not my dad! Go away!" he snarled. Ryonai didn't move, and only stared at the boy patiently. "If you don't go away, I'm going to hold my breath until I die, I mean it!" he announced. Ashland had learned the breath holding trick from a playmate back on Talking Island, and would use it to get his way more times than Sharmin would like to admit.

"Go ahead." Ryonai said easily. Ashland hadn't expected permission from his threat, and stared at Ryonai with large eyes for a moment. Ryonai gave Sharmin a look as she made a tiny movement towards her eldest son, halting her from approaching him. She withdrew back farther, and returned to giving Fitz attention. She glanced at the back of Ashland's blonde head as he drew in a deep breath, and sighed heavily as the boy held it.

For almost two minutes, Ashland glared at Ryonai while holding his breath, his face turning pink, then red, and then a darker ashen color. Too stubborn to give up, Ashland began to fidget as the air in his lungs grew stale. He fell comically to his knees a moment later, with one hand at his throat as he clawed the air for relief.

"What's the matter? I'm still here and you look quite lively to me." Ryonai said in amusement, a smirk forming on his face. On his side and flopping like a fish, Ashland finally let out the air he'd been holding and drew in a gasping breath as he finally rendered himself unconscious. Sharmin gasped as her son passed out, and placed Fitz gently on the floor to scoot to his side. She sighed in relief as she found him breathing, and frowned as she looked up at Ryonai.

"That was unnecessary." She stated as Ryonai began to laugh. As frightened as she was at that moment, she would later have to admit that nothing did the trick of breaking him from that habit than that episode. Afterwords Ashland was afraid to even hold his breath to go under water when he went swimming with Hara and Ren. He seemed to respect Ryonai after that as well, even if he didn't see him completely as a father figure.

Two years passed. As Kalline grew, it shocked everyone but Sharmin to see that she'd given birth to a Komugi clone. Ferrol was confused as to how it was possible, as Komugi was in reality Sharmin's cousin. Sharmin had to deny her father several times to draw blood from the baby so he could study it in the lab office Ryonai had given him. Even Vlad, who slowly returned to his old self, had to be fended away from the baby with curious blue-gray eyes, who didn't seem remotely afraid of anything.

Life was peaceful between Ryonai and Sharmin. He was livelier than he'd been in ages, and even looked healthier too. Sharmin would admit quietly to herself that she'd grown quite fond of him, perhaps even to a loving point. They got along well, and rarely ever had a disagreement.

This peace was swiftly interrupted, as one evening while Sharmin sat on the beach watching Linit, Hara, Ren and Ashland play in the water, the doll she'd summoned two years prior suddenly dropped from the sky in front of her. Sharmin yelped as it stood up with clockwork clicks, and brushed the sand from its skirt.

"I really need to figure out how to land this thing better. I think I even felt that." Komugi's voice came bitterly. She looked around the beach curiously before shuffling to Sharmin's side and sitting down. "At the beach I see. How are things going?" she asked casually, ignoring Sharmin's shocked expression.

"Um…they're…great." She said hesitantly, trying to recover from her shock. A smile broke out on her face, and she leaned closer to the doll. "I had my baby, it was a girl! She looks just like you!" she began excitedly, wishing she'd brought Kalline down to the beach with her.

"Just like me?" Komugi asked in a nearly emotionless voice. Sharmin withdrew a bit and frowned, hurt by her lack of reaction. "If things are happy here, then I won't stay. I don't want to disturb it." She suddenly stated, the doll standing up again. Sharmin's heart began to thud hard in her chest, and she grabbed the doll's wooden hand.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, recalling clearly that Komugi said would return when she had news of Gatz. The doll stared at her silently for a moment before slowly sitting back down. She put one jointed, wooden hand over Sharmin's gently, and looked into her face with her glowing red eyes.

"If you're content with this life, then I can't tell you what I know, it'll ruin it." Komugi stated seriously. Sharmin searched the doll's face for a hint at what Komugi was speaking of, but there was no way for her to gauge her sister's emotions while she was speaking through a wooden puppet.

"Don't be silly, how can anything you tell me ruin my life?" she tried to ask in her best dismissive voice. It came out with a nervous laugh, and Komugi sighed.

"You can't tell her that and then just expect her to choose ignorance." Sharmin heard Zaken state in irritation. Komugi made a hissing noise, and then sighed again in exasperation.

"Fine." She grumbled. The doll twitched as Komugi returned to controlling it, and stood up again. "Sharmin, we think we've found where Gatz has gone." Sharmin's eyes widened and her lips parted as the fragile glass box she'd made of her new life suddenly shattered into millions of pieces, leaving her in a cold empty void. The doll pulled a worn map of the world from inside of her dress and spread it out on the sand in front of her.

Up in the castle, within the throne room, Ryonai suddenly sat straight in his chair as a jolt went through him and stared towards one of the high windows next to the vaulted ceiling. In the middle of speaking of city complaints, Amari looked up from his paper and raised an eyebrow at his reaction. Without a word Ryonai left his chair, and walked briskly towards the doors.

"We searched the entirety of the southern seas for these two years, trying to guess the path that the ship had taken. Over and over again we took the classic route I remember the Talking Island ship taking to Giran, but we didn't see them, or anything that would've caused a shipwreck." Komugi began, making the doll trace the path of the ship with its wooden finger. "It was also odd, as we looked into it, that there were no other reports of missing people from that ship, so we smelled conspiracy."

"Wait, Ryonai said the entire crew had been reported missing…" Sharmin began, recalling the first course of action that Ryonai took in trying to locate Gatz. The doll shook its head slowly, and dread began to settle in Sharmin's chest.

"We pulled a few strings at Giran Harbor and got that ship's travel log after some bargaining with the Warf Manager." Zaken's voice came eagerly now. There were some sounds of scuffling from the doll's head, and Sharmin got a strange mental picture of the two fighting inside of it. She swallowed the urge to giggle at it, and waited until they were through.

"I'm telling her this, go mend ropes or something!" Komugi snapped. The doll twitched as she regained control once more, and its hand moved back to Talking Island. "As the pervert vampire said, we got the travel log, and found out that for some bizarre reason, the ship was taking a slightly different path of travel, one that took him through here." The doll's finger altered quite a bit from the Giran course, and paused on a place where Komugi or someone had scribbled a whirlpool swirl. Sharmin felt her blood run cold as she stared at it, and looked up at the doll.

"What…what does that swirl mean?" she barely managed to ask. The doll shrugged, and sat back slightly.

"It's a dead zone for navigation. Our machinery began to give out as we got close to that area, so we couldn't see as much as we would've liked. One thing we noted however is that our compasses went haywire in that area, and the sky turned this bloody red color. I thought I saw an island, but I'm not certain because we had to hightail it out. If there's anywhere that Gatz could be, it's in that place; it's the only logical explanation." Komugi stated. "Hold on a second, I'm not done!" she exclaimed as Sharmin surged to her feet with large eyes. She had begun to tremble in anxiety and hope, the only thing filling her mind was finding a way to that swirl on the map, and searching for Gatz.

"What more is there for me to hear?" Sharmin asked impatiently, logic and reason far from her mind. The doll rolled the parchment up and stuck it back in her dress before standing.

"The crew on that ship, it's odd, but we found them alive and well and working the docks on Talking Island." Komugi stated, the doll brushing the sand from her skirt again. "It's funny…but the supposed official that Gatz was supposed to meet on that ship went by the name of Sir Alex Windawood...kinda funny, don'tcha think? Odd that a guy with the same name as the same ass who kicked you out of your house and tried to get you arrested was on the ship with your husband before it disappeared…"

"Mommy, look!" Ashland called, interrupting Sharmin and Komugi as he raced across the beach towards her. Now five, he was much better natured than he was two years prior, but was still a bundle of excess energy.

"Wow, he looks like Gatz." Komugi said in surprise as the boy paused for a moment to tilt his head curiously at the doll. Dismissing it with the disinterest only a child could have, he grabbed Sharmin's hand and placed a large conch shell in it.

"Isn't it pretty?" he asked, beaming at Sharmin proudly. Sharmin turned the white shell over in her hands curiously, and then looked at her son.

"Where did you get this?" she asked with a frown. Such shells could only be found on the far side of the reef, much too far for a five-year-old to swim. Ashland turned and pointed to the spot where they had been playing.

"That pretty lady gave it to me." He said. Sharmin followed her son's finger out to where a winged woman stood in the water with Hara and Ren, splashing them playfully. Sharmin squinted and took a step towards their play spot; the woman seemed familiar somehow…

"Vuylay?" Ryonai's voice breathed next to her. Sharmin jumped in startlement, and glanced over her shoulder. She hadn't heard him approach, and now he stared at the winged woman with the color drained from his face. Sharmin's lips parted as he rushed past her and towards the woman in the water.

The woman looked up as Ryonai charged through the water towards her, and both she and the children yelped in fear as he grabbed her roughly by the wrist and pulled her down as she tried to take to the air. The children screamed and fled from the shallow water to cling to Linit on the beach as Ryonai smacked the woman so hard feathers were dislodged from her wings.

"How dare you come back now!" Ryonai cried, not bothering to hide the grief in his voice. The woman who was once Vuylay struggled against him, but weakly as if she wanted to flee yet didn't. "Why didn't you return to me before? Why?" he yelled at her.

"I'm sorry!" the woman sobbed as well, crying loudly. "I was scared!"

"Scared of what? Don't you know how much you hurt me?" he asked, keeping a firm grip on her hand as she collapsed to her knees in the shallow water. "Didn't I love you enough? Didn't I protect you enough?" his shoulders shook as he cried, and Linit backed along the beach until she and the children were close to Sharmin.

"Wow, what happened to Vuylay?" Komugi asked, watching the display. She shook her head dismissively before anyone could answer. "I should go now, be safe Sharmin, and don't do anything stupid." Sharmin broke her gaze from watching Ryonai and the winged Vuylay to look at the doll as it spun wildly and took off into the air. She swallowed hard as she looked back at Ryonai and Vuylay; her time with him had ended, she felt, leaving only a duty that left her in the utmost grief to even ponder doing.

"Answer me!" Ryonai shouted, squeezing Vuylay's wrist. She cried out in pain and then sobbed, her other hand clenching the wet sand beneath the water.

"I'm not the same person I was when I left, I'm whole now!" she shouted angrily towards the water. She sobbed loudly and sunk into herself, her wings drooping pitifully in the water behind her. "I'm immortal, Ryonai, a half-god!" Her head whipped up quickly to face him, fear and grief written in her eyes. "I didn't want to live on forever and watch you die!" she cried. "Over and over again, you'd be reborn as a human and die as a human…I couldn't stand that grief!" Ryonai collapsed to his knees next to her, and stared at her helplessly as she leaned over and covered half of her face with her free hand to hide it.

"Come on." Sharmin murmured, herding the group of children towards the castle. Hara and Ren sniffled as they walked dutifully with her, and both clung to Linit's hands tightly.

"Is daddy gonna kill mommy?" Hara asked mournfully, looking up at Sharmin. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she looked down at the girl with hair such a light pink it was nearly white.

"You know that's your mommy?" Sharmin asked in disbelief. Both Hara and Ren nodded at the same time, and Linit hugged them close.

"She's been coming out to visit them for as long as I can remember, but she told us to not tell Uncle Ryo." Linit replied, looking away from Sharmin guiltily. A desperate look crossed her face and she looked back, tears swimming in her eyes. "I didn't think he was hurting this bad, he always seemed so happy in front of us!" she exclaimed, searching Sharmin for support. Sharmin gave Linit a half smile, and patted her on top of her tomato soup-red hair. The sting of rejection was heavy in Sharmin's chest despite the fact that her heart was still very much attached to Gatz, and she couldn't find words to comfort the fourteen year old with.

Back on the beach, Ryonai still sat in the water, clutching Vuylay's wrist and staring at her as she wept. Twice she tried to pull away when his grip went slack, but he clenched his hand and prevented her from fleeing. She winced as her peripheral vision caught sight of him moving, thinking he was going to strike her again. To her surprise he caressed her face instead, and she glanced up at him with large eyes.

"Don't leave me again, either of you." He said softly, his eyes full of pain. The woman who was once Vuylay's lips parted in surprise; he wasn't just addressing Vuylay, but Shizuka as well. He pulled her close in a desperate kiss, trying to convey everything he was feeling then with just the touch of his lips. She trembled as she again fought the urge to flee, but finally gave into the feelings in her own heart, and collapsed upon him.

As night fell over the lands of Innadril, Sharmin laid on Ashland's bed, snuggling both he and Fitz. Kissing both of their foreheads, she smiled sadly as she smoothed the hair from Fitz's face. All of her children seemed to be copies of everyone important in her life, and it warmed her heart. Fitz was a nearly exact copy of Ferrol, with an oval face and dark brown hair; although the older man insisted he looked more like Deirdre to him. Sharmin's childhood bad eyesight had been passed on to her son, but spectacles had been improved since she'd worn them. Fitz's glasses were small and quite classy, and Sharmin was relieved that he wouldn't get the same harsh teasing words that she'd received.

As the large grandfather clock in the hall chimed the hour, Sharmin swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. She moved off the bed gently as to not wake her children, and paused to kiss them both again. They both sighed, and Ashland rolled over to the spot she'd vacated to hug the pillow she'd been propped against. She sniffled softly as she moved over to the cradle where Kalline slept, and leaned over to kiss her daughter's red head.

"Please forgive me one day if things don't go as planned…" she whispered into Kalline's hair. The toddler sighed in her sleep like her brothers, and a tear escaped Sharmin's eye to land on her forehead. She quickly stood before more joined it, and wiped her face. She paused briefly at Hara and Ren's beds as well, to give them each a kiss on their heads. The twins were old enough to graduate from sleeping in the nursery, but like with Ashland, they preferred sleeping in one big puppy pile over the freedom of their own bedrooms.

Taking a breath to steady her nerves, Sharmin paused once outside of the nursery, asking herself if the decision she was making was the right one. The memory of seeing Ryonai with Vuylay stabbed her through the heart, and she winced. Yes, this decision had to be the right one; she had no role in this place now. Without even a backwards glance, Sharmin left the nursery and made her way towards the armory. Several night guards gave her a confused look as she passed their station, but no one stopped her.

It was uncertain to both how it happened, but after reuniting with one another down on the beach, Ryonai and his estranged wife somehow made it up to the Lord's Bedroom to reunite again, there. Just as Sharmin entered the armory elsewhere in the castle, the eyes of the winged woman sprung open.

Lying on her stomach, she lifted herself up to glance towards the balcony doors, trying to remember how they made it into the bedroom. Her unbound hair pooled on the bed by her elbow, like a pink-laced violet waterfall. She stood from the bed and wandered towards the balcony like a sleepwalker, her wings which she'd willed away hours before, returning and springing from her back in a shower of feathers. Her hair seemed to change in shade as she entered the bright moonlight streaming in the window, and she paused at the windows to look out.

"Shizuka." Ryonai's voice stated instead of asked. The woman at the window turned quickly with large eyes, shocked that he was awake. Hair that was just violet a moment ago was now the pale shade of powder pink that was Shizuka's, and she looked at Ryonai with a gaze that spoke of fear. Ryonai sighed and shut his eyes; it hurt his heart to see his ex girlfriend in front of him again like that, especially with the moonlight shimmering off of her new wings and naked body.

"I'd forgotten how nice the view was here…" Shizuka said, turning back to the doors and putting her hand on the glass. Ryonai's eyes opened again in surprise. Never had he heard Shizuka speak so seriously, or calmly. Her voice had always been either the bubbly happiness of a ditz, or the dark menace of an insane woman hell-bent on pleasing the goddess of death.

"You can see it every day now…" Ryonai said with a boyish smile, rising from the bed as well. Shizuka snorted through her nose and glanced at him again.

"It's best if I didn't. I've done too much to be accepted now." She said bitterly. Ryonai paused mid-step, his blood running cold with her words. A watery sniffle came from her as she stared out through the glass once more. As Sharmin had done to him two years prior, Ryonai crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her from behind, and hugged her tightly.

"I've missed you." Ryonai whispered, speaking to both parts of the soul in his arms. Shizuka sobbed once, and shook her head. She placed a hand on his arm, and relaxed into his hug.

"It's best if I disappear inside of her. She suited you so much better." Shizuka said softly, leaning her head against his chest. His eyes that he'd closed in pleasure opened slightly, and he rested his cheek on top of her head.

"You don't love me?" he asked softly, hurt by her words. Shizuka chuckled softly in her throat and then sighed.

"Right now I do…but it is her feelings." She said almost sadly. "That was the curse of the whole being put into two…there was only so much that could be divided. All of the senses of emotion, the ability to love…those were all bestowed to Vuylay. All that was left to the other half was unending hatred…I wasn't even allowed to feel during the times I most wanted to, it all went to her." She reached up to wipe her face with her free hand. "I _was _rather fond of you…I just couldn't feel it. I'm sorry I deceived you." She broke down into sobs with this apology, and Ryonai gently turned her around to hug her properly. They held each other for a long time, her mournful weeping finally calming to sniffles again. She pulled away from him gently, and wandered towards the bed again.

"I'm going to sleep now…for a long, long time." Shizuka said, laying down and pulling the covers over her. "She won't be able to find or sense me anymore…not until I wake many years from now." Ryonai took a step towards her, his eyes large. She was committing suicide within the body she shared with Vuylay essentially, but he was uncertain on how to stop it. He loved Vuylay and wanted that part back, but he didn't want Shizuka to disappear either. She smiled warmly at the look on his face, and settled against the pillows. "Thank you for caring so much…but don't you have another woman you should be attending to?" she asked with a soft laugh. Ryonai's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered Sharmin for the first time since Vuylay's return. Acting on instinct, he grabbed his robe from where it hung on the changing screen, and dashed out of the bedroom, pulling it on.

Shizuka chuckled as he ran off, and then sighed. Yes, to protect these people whom she'd done nothing but cruel things to…she had to disappear. Perhaps if she faded,_ he_ wouldn't try to search her out later. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes and let it out slowly, her hair returning to the pink-streaked violet as she exhaled. Although still in the appearance of the winged half-goddess she'd become, only Vuylay was left sleeping peacefully as Shizuka buried herself deep within Vuylay's psyche to sleep even longer. It was the only gift she could give to Ryonai and Vuylay…and she hoped it wouldn't be for nothing.

"Sharmin!" Ryonai shouted as he raced into the throne room. Now dressed in her old Avadon armor, Sharmin halted as Ryonai's voice echoed through the cathedral-like room. Gripping the shoulder strap of her travel pack tightly, she turned around and gave him a feeble smile. "Where are you going?" he demanded, hurrying down the stairs to the lower level. By the gods above, must all the women he felt were important run away from him?

"To find Gatz." She said bravely, facing him fully as he came to stand on the same level with her. "Komugi thinks she knows where he's disappeared to, and I intend to go bring him back." He paused mid-step to gape at her with large eyes.

"Tell me where…I'll send men there…" Ryonai said quickly, rushing towards her. She stepped back from him as he reached out to put his hands on her shoulders, and shook her head rapidly.

"I can't…I have to do this as secretly as I can. There are too many people who are working for that Alex Windawood right now, possibly even some of your own men." She said, looking away from him. She clenched the strap of her travel pack even tighter. "Besides…I don't have a place here after today, I'll just be in the way." She said in a hard voice. Ryonai let his hands drop, suddenly feeling helpless. There was nothing he could say to argue her words…despite the guilt over hurting her (and his own small grief over loosing her companionship), he knew she was right.

"What about your kids? How are they going to handle waking up and finding their mother gone?" Ryonai asked desperately. He had a bad feeling about the journey she was about to take, and he didn't like it.

"Already taken care of. It'll be hard on them, but they still have me at least. If you need us to go once she's gone, I've already got a house lined up in Heine." Ferrol stated as he entered the throne room. He put a hand on Sharmin's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "This trip is going to be hard on her, but what can you do when you're in love?" he asked, staring at the castle lord seriously.

"Finding another house won't be necessary." Ryonai nearly snapped, offended that Ferrol would assume that they were no longer welcome. He returned his attention to Sharmin, who stared at the floor now, visibly trying to fight tears. Sighing heavily he took her hand and squeezed it. "I can respect your not telling me where you're heading…but at least take someone with you. There's got to be someone in Haibane that you trust…" he said, trying to get her to look at him.

"That's taken care of too. I hope you can do without me for some time, sir." Zaren stated, stepping out of the shadows around them. "Valimos and I have assembled a small group of people we can trust from Haibane and our allies." Ryonai looked at him with large eyes, surprised by his appearance and then looked back at Sharmin.

"You did all of this behind my back?" he asked, his voice hard.

"Not behind your back…you were just…busy." Sharmin said hesitantly, a blush springing up on her cheeks. Ryonai's own ears turned pink, and he cleared his throat. Again, she was right, and he had to struggle to not lash out to bandage his wounded pride. Sighing once, Ryonai lifted Sharmin's face from its angle towards the floor, and kissed her. He kissed her in gratitude for everything she'd done for him, and kissed her in feeling for everything she'd become to him.

"That part I'm not giving back to Gatz, not for anything." He said in a husky whisper in her ear. He swallowed once as a wild idea crossed his mind, and hugged her close. Her breastplate dug into his skin, but he ignored it and tightened his hold. "If by chance you don't find him…just by chance…I can make it so that you're still welcome here as my wife." He whispered. Sharmin's eyes widened and she blushed as she realized what he was promising. He would abuse his power to give himself rights to polygamy…one of the only taboos bigger than a Paladin breaking their vows in the eyes of the Church of Einhasad…just for her sake. To give her a home when she felt she had none. He kissed her cheek as they parted, closing the chapter on their lives as lovers, and returning it to the one of friendship.

"Be safe, Lieve." Ferrol murmured, taking his turn to hug his daughter. He only called her by the name Deirdre had given her when they would be parted for a long amount of time, and it always tightened Sharmin's throat to hear it. He kissed her as well, and she flashed both of them a sad smile before exiting the throne room with Zaren.

Nearly a month later, Ryonai made an official announcement that he and Sharmin had divorced, and Vuylay was alive and well and still his wife. When asked about Sharmin's location by the Church of Einhasad, Ryonai made sure to specify she had disappeared after officiating the divorce with him, and was en route to reunite with her true husband-Gatz. The look of terror on Sir Alex's face was enough of an ego boost to keep him in a good mood for weeks, as he knew Alex was scrambling for a way to find her without having his treachery being found out.

However, right after this conference, Ryonai returned to Innadril Castle to find all three of the Windawood children in tears for a reason they could not speak of. They cried for Sharmin and for Gatz, even though they were all aware that neither parent was there at the time.

A week later, Valimos returned alone.


	11. Chapter 10

_The Present_

"I need you to go to Schuttgart." Terebel said.

Mune paused with her fork halfway to her mouth to gape at her uncle across the table from her. It was evening, and Terebel and Narlafayn finally exhausted themselves enough to go out in search of food, allowing Roan and Mune to enter the house finally. Narlafayn also gaped at Terebel, as it was common knowledge that Mune swore after Ballard's death that she'd never step foot in Schuttgart again. Seated next to Mune, Roan ate in silence, his eyes glued to one of the books Lavinia had left behind, which he'd propped up on the table to read from while he ate.

"You're joking right?" Mune asked incredulously, her food dropping off of her fork and back onto her plate. Terebel gave her a look that said he wasn't as he chewed, and Mune dropped her fork. "No." she said quickly.

"You have to." Terebel stated, swallowing his mouthful and taking a drink from the glass by his plate. "Calisan was arrested up there and needs a family member to bail him out. Evzen can't have a hand in this matter or it'll seem like favoritism and put him in a bad light." Mune glanced at Narlafayn, who shook her head and shrugged with large eyes.

"So go do it yourself, you're his family, plus the Seal of Gnosis, they'll be happy to have you up there." Mune snapped while clenching a fist. Terebel sighed heavily, the noise gaining Roan's attention away from the book.

"You fail to remember, I emerged as the Destroyer up there." He said in a controlled voice. Narlafayn's expression turned desperate, and she put a hand on Terebel's arm. Speaking of the time when Ballard died and his fate as the Destroyer emerged was still very hard on him, and Narlafayn hated to see him struggle with his emotions.

"I'm not going and that's final!" Mune shouted, slamming her fists on the table and standing.

"You're going, and THAT'S final!" Terebel shouted in return. Narlafayn hid her face behind her hand as they launched into an argument. They both shared an identical stubbornness that Narlafayn swore had to have been genetically inherited from Ballard himself. She glanced at Roan, who had instantly lost interest in their argument and was back to reading his book.

"Don't you grow up to be that stubborn." She said flatly, staring at her son. Roan blinked once and looked up at her, his face not giving away any emotion.

"I think it's a lost cause because you're pretty stubborn too. I'll probably be worse." He stated maturely. Narlafayn sighed heavily and buried her face in her arms, defeated.

As Mune and Terebel argued over who would go to Schuttgart, Waverly Telrúnya was venturing out of the village on his own for the first time. The ten year old strolled casually past the sentinels guarding the south gate, making it appear as if he were going to go fishing in the lake beneath the village. As he reached the end of the long bridge, he glanced over his shoulder once, and with a triumphant grin sprinted away from the village.

"Waverly Telrúnya, I'm telling!" a stubborn child's voice shouted behind him. Waverly stumbled to a stop and spun around quickly, his eyes large. Iris, now seven with a head full of blonde ringlets, stood to the side of the bridge with her arms folded across her chest. Her group of friends sat at her feet and giggled to each other about some secret only they knew.

"What are you telling on me for? I'm just going to go practice my sword stuff." Waverly lied, shoving his hands in the pockets of his calfskin shorts. Iris shook her head fiercely, her curls bobbing around her head.

"You're not supposed to leave the Village without a grown up, I'm telling!" she repeated. Again her friends giggled at her feet, the noise of their laughter irritating Waverly.

"Oh yeah? What about you, you're out of the village and you're not with an adult." Waverly accused, glaring at the girl. Iris's expression changed and she stuck her nose in the air with a spoiled smirk.

"My daddy told me I was a good girl and could go where I wanted." She stated in a boastful tone. Waverly groaned and rolled his eyes before turning away from the girl again. He'd known her as long as he could remember, but the older she got, the more annoying she was becoming to him. She could never do wrong in the eyes of her parents, and more times than not, Waverly was stuck taking punishment for mischievousness she caused.

"Ok, ok. I'll go back in the Village." Waverly grumbled, kicking his toe into the hard packed dirt of the path he stood upon. Iris' tiny chest puffed out in snobbish pride over getting Waverly to obey a command, and she smiled at him in an almost flirtatious manner.

"Well, I won't tell on you if you come play with me." She pushed. Expecting him to follow this direction too she sat down with her friends and waited for him to join. When her friends next to her gasped, Iris turned around to find Waverly racing down the path, away from them. Her mouth dropped open as she stood up, shocked that he would trick her. Her pretty face dissolved into hateful tears, and at the top of her lungs she screamed "DADDY!"

Waverly couldn't remember why, but he had the distinct feeling that he should be going out to Iris Lake every time the seasons changed. His parents would gladly take him down there to visit the young Mother Tree near the lake, but never let him out of their sight. He recalled that, just that spring they'd taken a trip to the Lake, and he'd seen the prettiest blonde woman sitting on the bank of the Lake, playing a lute. His mother pulled him away as he tried to approach the lake, scolding him for not properly greeting the Mother Tree. When he looked back again, she had vanished. Now it was the last day of summer and first day of fall, and Waverly raced down the path towards Iris Lake alone, hoping beyond hope that the woman would be there again.

Waverly traveled for hours before finally reaching the second bridge that crossed the second of two rivers that flowed from the Oren side of the mountains. He sunk to a squat next to the bridge, and threw handfuls of grass into the river in front of him. He was tired, his feet hurt, and he was just remembering that the journey to Iris Lake took several days of foot travel, and he was a ten year old without provisions. Sighing in frustrated defeat, he rolled onto his side, and stared at the glimmering water in front of him. The sparkling hypnotized him, and he shut his eyes to sleep.

The sun was halfway through its course of setting, when Waverly felt someone approach him. Half-asleep, Waverly curled closer to himself, afraid that it was an adult sent to find him. Instead of a harsh scolding, he smelled a fresh scent, like flowers and pure untainted water in the early summer. A soft, musical chuckle met his ears instead of a shout, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"I suppose Iris Lake was too far for you to travel at this age after all." The pretty blonde woman said with a smile. Waverly lifted his head in an instant, his cheeks pink as he gazed at her up close. She seemed familiar somehow, although he couldn't remember when or where he would've seen her before. Her hair was long, nearly to her knees, and floated around her like wavy blonde clouds. She wore a strange yellow and blue bikini that appeared to be half made from shells, and a shimmering filmy yellow skirt was tied around her waist. A strange headdress that looked like a shell adorned her head, her hair streaming out from behind it.

The woman sat down next to him as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and she adjusted her skirt so that it would flare out around her. She wore strange thigh boots, Waverly noticed, that were the same colors of yellow and blue as the rest of her outfit, only instead of a boot covering her foot she had a stirrup strap which left her toes and heels bare.

"Shall I tell you a story now?" she asked as she settled herself. Waverly blinked curiously at her, and wondered why a stranger would ask such a silly thing. Why, he was ten years old, much too old for something like being told a story! He tried to shake his head at the woman and put on his most annoyed face, but his body stopped cooperating with him all of a sudden and he nodded with an eager smile. The woman giggled again like an excited child herself, and sat prettily as she thought of a story to tell.

She launched into an epic tale of a battle between good and evil that supposedly happened centuries before even the oldest Elf in the Village was born. It was a tale of angels versus the darkness of the Abyss, their wars conducted in underground labyrinths. There was one distinct hero in her story, one that finally put an end to the treachery of the Abyss, but Waverly couldn't help but feel dislike for him.

The moon was rising when Waverly began to feel sleepy again. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to force himself to stay awake. He was enjoying the woman's story so much; he didn't want to go to sleep just yet. It was also chilly now that the fall had begun, and he tried his best to not show that he was cold. He wasn't sure how the woman in front of him was staying warm, for she was dressed as one would dress to swim, not to sit in the open.

"Are you tired?" she asked, tilting her head at him curiously. Waverly shook his head rapidly, the flaps of the artisan goggle hat he'd worn since he were younger flapping back and forth. The woman giggled as he yawned immediately afterwards, amused by the blush on his face. She scooted closer to him and in a surprising display of strength, pulled him onto her lap and cuddled him close as if he were a small child. Waverly stared out in shock, and tried to convince himself to struggle in embarrassment. The woman began to hum softly before he could muster up the strength to do so, and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

She was warm, like bathwater, and soft as if she were made up of the sunshine-laced clouds her hair resembled. Her freshwater scent filled his senses as his eyes finally drifted shut. Her wordless song was beautiful, and he felt as if he'd known it at one time. He felt as if he knew her, somehow. He sighed and shifted to press closer to her, content as a baby to be held by this beautiful stranger.

"I will visit you again, when the fall changes to winter…but you only need look for me as far as the Starlight Waterfalls near your village. I won't make you travel so far next time." Her amused whisper came through the haze of sleep. Waverly made a small noise in his throat and shifted slightly before deeper sleep claimed him. "Thank you so much for coming to see me, descendant of Ballard. I rather enjoyed this evening." There was a light press on Waverly's forehead, and a blush automatically crept up on his cheeks as it registered as a kiss in his mind.

"Waverly!" Celleriant's surprised voice tore through the darkness of sleep, and Waverly sat up before he'd even fully woken. His father snatched him up just as he'd convinced his eyes to open to hug him tightly. "Is this where you've been this whole time? We've been so worried about you! It's by the grace of the trees you're safe!" he said in a tear-filled voice. Now fully awake, Waverly blinked several times in confusion before squirming out of his father's grip.

"How'd you find me way out here?" he asked, confused that Celleriant would've found him in such a strange spot.

"Well it's a good thing you didn't go far from home, Arvalo brought Iris over proclaiming that you'd run away towards Iris Lake alone." Celleriant stated, sitting back to give his son a skeptical look. Waverly stared at his father, his confusion growing. He glanced around his surroundings and nearly yelped as he was no longer sitting on the bank of the river in the arms of the pretty lady, but on the bank of the lake that the Starlight Waterfalls emptied into, near the Elven Village. He looked around himself wildly in the next second, trying to find where the lady had gone.

"Waverly! Oh my little sapling!" Cesa cried as she left the small group she'd been searching with to rush towards her husband and son. She collapsed to the ground and hugged him tightly while weeping over his shoulder. She pulled away in the next second with an angry look on her face and stood up while holding tightly to his hand. "You're going to march right over to the Mother Tree young man and apologize to her for worrying her as well!" she snapped, pulling him away from the banks of the Waterfall pool. Still shocked, Waverly allowed himself to be pulled. Had he just dreamt the entire thing?


	12. Chapter 11

Part 4

_In Which Mune is forced to face her mistakes_

Elven Village, nearly 30 years ago

Two young children, one an Elf with blonde hair nearly shorn to their scalp and the other a Dark Elf with longer white hair pulled back into a short ponytail raced around a house, playing tag. They giggled as they tried to tag the other, looking as if they hadn't a care in the world. They played this way for hours, racing around townsfolk who either responded in amusement at the children's fun, or annoyance at being disturbed. They finally wore out the evening of that day, and sat against the back of a house, panting.

The Dark Elf boy chuckled as he panted and struggled back to his feet after flashing a grin at his companion. He stretched his arms over his head as he walked to the edge of the platform the village sat upon, and hopped up on the lower bar of the decorative railing that protected people from falling over. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath as a breeze blew, and sighed happily.

"This is the most fun I've ever had!" he said as he felt his new friend approach him. He looked over and flashed a wide grin again. "I've never had another boy my age to play with…all of my brothers are younger than me!" he said happily. He didn't see his new companion freeze, or look down at their feet. They murmured something indecipherable, but he ignored it. "Ah…what shall we play next…?" he wondered aloud, glancing up to the clouds.

Before he had a chance to comprehend the situation, the Elf suddenly grabbed the Dark Elven boy by his tunic. With a great burst of strength the Dark Elf boy was pushed over the side of the railing. He had but a moment to stare up at the face of his assailant, their cold grin chilling him to the bone before his back hit the water hard, a large splash erupting around him.

Evzen Greyhelm woke from his dream in a cold sweat, and stared at his desk in horror while clutching his hair. It took him a moment to realize he'd fallen asleep at his desk within his den in Schuttgart Castle while waiting for his next load of paperwork. The dream he'd just experienced was a memory he'd repressed for years from the trauma of it, but now it was back, and still as traumatic as ever. He'd been terrified of Light Elves for years after that incident, which made it increasingly difficult on the Greyhelm family as Tacitus Greyhelm had recently adopted a set of Elven triplets.

A knock sounded on the door and distracted Evzen from his internal horror, and he looked up. A face surrounded by mahogany curls peeked in through a crack and grinned as its eyes found him awake. A body followed, and Evzen sat a little straighter. Meekly the person approached his desk, smoothing her dress as she walked. Without a word he held his arm out and she rushed around the desk to sit on his lap and pressed her face to his in a kiss. She was his girlfriend, and he was quite happy with her.

"Are you ok? You're all sweaty." She asked, parting their mouths but still keeping their foreheads pressed together. She stroked the sweat away from his temples gently, and pushed his hair back into the straight-back hairstyle he customarily wore it in. Evzen forced a half-smile onto his face, and clasped his hands at the small of her back. She'd oftentimes requested more bold gestures from him while they were close as they were now, but Evzen refused, vowing for her sake to remain a perfect gentleman. He was quite a bit older than she was after all.

Another knock on the door interrupted the pair, and the girl jumped off of Evzen's lap with a blush high on her cheeks. Again the door opened, but this time the castle's head manservant Krystof was behind it.

"Sir, an envoy from Aden has just arrived. They're here about that merchant criminal in prison." He said in a bored tone, dislike for those from Aden clearly heard in his voice. Evzen sat up in interest, and tilted his head slightly.

"Oh? Koyori came back?" he asked, tugging down his tunic as he stood from his chair. Krystof sighed heavily and opened the door wider to allow Evzen and his girlfriend passage.

"No sir, it's that granddaughter of Ballard Felagund that got your family disowned by Rune's religious sect five years ago." Krystof stated in a hard voice. Evzen froze with his words, but before his girlfriend could look at his face, he moved on again.

Minutes earlier, Mune had blinked into existence at the top of the steps leading into Schuttgart's church. She'd arrived wearing a scowl, and glanced around the houses surrounding the church with a glare. Ryonai's academy for Haibane was somewhere amongst the tri-level, ice and snow covered stone houses, but she wasn't sure which.

"Oh god, if I knew it was you; I would've closed the gates and let you be lost." A familiar groan came from behind her. Mune spun around with large eyes to find Bilia in traditional Elmorean Gatekeeper garb, glaring at her hatefully. An old woman hobbled up to her and murmured a request for a port and held out a small bag of money.

"My my, so rats can learn some magic." Mune sneered, sticking her nose in the air. Dark rage crossed Bilia's face and without taking her eyes off of Mune, snatched the money from the old woman and ported her out of the city so fast she yelped as she disappeared. She stomped towards Mune after that, and glared at her with their faces close together.

"How unlucky for you that Evzen thought it kind enough to let me keep my post in this city…be prepared girl, as long as you're here, I'm going to make your life hell." Bilia growled from underneath the heavy disk and veil headdress she wore. Mune glanced up at it and instantly got the urge to take a gong hammer and slam it into the disk.

"Whatever, as if you can do anything that would upset me." Mune snorted, giving the disk one last glance before turning away.

"Oh really? How about this then, did you know Evzen went and got a girlfriend?" she said haughtily. Mune froze, poised in the middle of taking her first step away from the Gatekeeper, and swiftly looked back over her shoulder at Bilia. "How sad for the granddaughter of Ballard Felagund…thought you could just come back to him and he'd still be waiting for you, didn't you?" she said in a mock pitiful voice, speaking with lips pushed out in the way one coos to children. Mune stared at her with large eyes, her expression unidentifiable to Bilia.

"Mune?" a voice asked. Mune spun around to find a brown blur launching herself at her body. "Mune, it is you!" the voice exclaimed, hugging Mune tightly. Mune stumbled with the force of the hug and blinked into the air several times. She then looked at the head of the person hugging her. A mass of mahogany ringlets met her vision and she squinted as the hair tickled her eyes. The person pulled away to stare at Mune happily, and clasp her hands beneath her face.

"Linit?" Mune responded, shocked to see Ryonai's niece in such a place. It'd been nearly three years since Mune had seen Linit, and she'd grown up quite a bit in that time. Now she was the perfect image of a 17 year-old noble, with perfect posture and dress. Due to her mixed heritage she was a wider frame than most of the girls in Ryonai's family, but not fat.

"Mune I'm so happy to see you! You came to see the dedication statue of your grandfather's after all, didn't you?" Linit exclaimed, latching onto Mune's arm. Mune frowned and looked at the younger girl in confusion.

"Dedication statue…?" she echoed, never hearing of such a thing before.

"Oh Mune, I've got so many things to tell you, I've experienced so much since I saw you last!" Linit giggled. Mune glanced away from the girl and instantly pondered as to why she was suddenly acting like her best friend. If Linit was friendly with anyone close to her it was Waverly, as they played together when Linit was younger. "But first, I want you to meet someone!" she exclaimed, pulling Mune towards one of the stairways that led to the lower, poor district. Mune allowed herself to be led, and walked with heavy feet. She didn't want to spend her time visiting with Linit, she wanted to get Calisan out of jail and back to Aden before…

"Mune, meet my boyfriend. This wonderful man is named Evzen." Linit introduced proudly, bringing Mune to a stop in front of the bewildered Lord of Schuttgart. The color drained from Mune's face as she laid eyes on Evzen again, and her heart unexpectedly did a fluttering dance. This dance abruptly ended with her heart tripping and falling as Linit's words clicked in her head.

"Wait, boyfriend?" Mune echoed again, staring at Linit in shock. Linit giggled and released Mune's arm to hop over to Evzen and hug his in exchange. She nodded vigorously and snuggled close to Evzen.

"He's in charge around here too, but you didn't hear that from me!" she whispered loudly before giggling again. Mune stared hard at Evzen with her jaw clenched. A strange feeling had suddenly befallen her, and she wasn't sure what it was. She thrust out her hand anyway, deciding right then that it was best to go with Linit's ignorance of their acquaintance.

"I'm pleased to meet you sir, thank you for allowing me to arrive safely in your city." She said. Her voice choked slightly as she spoke, and she swallowed hard. A hot feeling pricked her eyes as Evzen slowly reached out to shake her hand. He stared at her as if he were suddenly shocked by her, and Mune had to forcibly withdraw her hand from his as he held it too long after their courteous handshake.

"Nice…to meet you too…" he said softly, his eyes large. Mune froze and stared at the trampled snow at her feet as her vision suddenly swam as if she were underwater before two large tears dropped out of her eyes and hit the gold toes of her boots. She blinked once, sending two more down her cheeks, and looked up at Evzen and Linit in shock.

"Mune…what's wrong?" Linit asked, instantly concerned. Wide eyed and somewhat frightened of this strange emotion coursing through her, Mune glanced between Linit and Evzen, wincing as the feeling stabbed her harder as she glanced at Evzen again. Without a word she turned away from the pair and hurried up the stairs to the rich district in hopes to find Haibane's clan hall.

"You think she's ok? It's probably because of her grandfather dying up here, right?" Linit questioned, looking up at Evzen curiously. An uneasy feeling surged through her as she caught sight of an almost regretful expression on Evzen's face for a moment before he recovered an expressionless one and looked down at her. She frowned slightly and withdrew from her hug on his arm. "Perhaps I should go talk with her…she might need some comfort right now." She stated slowly, staring at Evzen sidelong as she stepped away. Evzen grabbed her hand as she took a step away from him, and held fast.

"No, I think it's best to just leave her alone." He stated softly. Linit smiled and shook her head, lifting his hand to kiss it once before gently withdrawing her own.

"Nonsense, everyone needs someone to hug when they're grieving!" Linit scolded playfully, shaking a finger at Evzen. "I'll just be a moment; I should at least show her where Uncle Ryo's clan hall is." She stated, her voice growing distant as she walked away from him.

Far outside the protective walls of the town, the wind blew fiercely. The sky was clear and cloud-free, but the wind was harsh and cold, blowing snow nearly as badly as if it were falling from the sky. Two men wearing hooded traveler's cloaks and clothes made of heavy bear fur trudged through the deep snow drifts of the Plunderous Plains. They held leather scarves over their nose and mouths, trying to keep their faces warm. One man seemed to have a strange lopsided bulk on his back, which was crossed over by a large rectangular sword, the likes of which were only seen in myths and legends. The man next to him had a shield on his back, and walked with difficulty as the cold taxed his strength.

"Well she wasn't in the Dwarven Village." The man with a shield panted as he struggled through a drift. "I knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try." He grunted as he pulled his leg from the snow with difficulty. The other man paused briefly and glanced ahead of them, squinting as snow tried to blow into his eyes. His eyes, a frightening color of crystalline albino red, caught sight of the peak of Schuttgart's church, visible over the tops of the trees in front of them.

"We should stop in Schuttgart next." He suggested, speaking louder than his usual murmur so his companion could hear him over the howling wind. His companion paused to look at him, grimacing as he panted, the cold burning his lungs. He sized his companion up curiously, shocked again that his traveling friend seemed to know the names of each town they'd been to despite never having traveled the world before. He shrugged lightly and began trudging through the drifts again.

"Ok, Schuttgart it is then." He stated breathlessly.

The days went by quickly in Schuttgart. Mune had swallowed her unexpected gush of tears as Linit found her again, and stared limply at nothing as the girl cooed and hugged her like a doting mother. She was led to Haibane's clan hall and left for the night. The next day Mune spent it in her room, feeling too numb to move. The hall was located right next to the church, giving her a view of the doors every time she looked out of her room window.

In her minds eye she kept seeing her grandfather walking out of the church to greet people as they entered, and her throat would tighten again. Although a great-grandfather at the time of his death, Ballard was still in his prime by Elven standards, it was far too early for him to have died. Mune was well aware now that it was Shizuka whom had killed him and not Terebel, but that did little to comfort her.

The day after that, Mune emerged from her room, and wandered into the church. Terebel had told her that to get Calisan out of jail without bringing a bad light to Evzen was to petition to the head Elven priest, who would then bring it to the Head Priest, then the chamberlain, and then to Evzen himself. A board of committees would have to review her plea after that, but Terebel stated that the committee was so in favor of Evzen's personality that they would accept it and free Calisan without much discussion.

The church doors were nestled safely beyond several archways that were made up of stone pillars filled with fire. It warmed the air considerably as you passed through them on your way to the sanctuary, and helped give parishioners a more pleasant exterior instead of one of hunched shivering. As she passed through the archways with the afternoon's parishioners, Mune felt her throat tighten. The scent of the oil used to keep the fires burning in the pillars filled her nostrils, and brought back memories of Ballard. She winced as the dimly lit interior of the church temporarily blinded her, and paused to rub her eyes as they focused.

As soon as she could see, Mune blinked once and glanced around the stone interior of the sanctuary. Everything was as it had been the first time she'd ever seen it, but it seemed bleaker now, colder and hollow. The Elven Priest that they'd brought in to replace Ballard was one she'd never met, and greeted the Elven parishioners with a snooty expression. It was obvious that he thought he was higher than the rest of the congregation, and it hardened her heart to think that Ballard's position had been filled with such a person. Still, he was the person she had to speak to, to get her plea for Calisan's freedom to Evzen, and she took a place in line behind a frail looking Elven woman and her three children.

Despite her best efforts to keep her eyes from wandering, Mune found herself lost in memory of the night Ballard died. Her eyes followed the path she remembered taking as she and Terebel fought, and her throat tightened to a painful degree as her eyes gazed over the place where Ballard had been slain. She could almost hear his voice in her ears still, greeting her happily, and she swallowed with difficulty against the tears that wanted to spill. It seemed since they emerged unexpectedly in front of Evzen, she'd found it difficult to keep from crying, and it was really starting to irritate her. She'd never been a crybaby, and it angered her to think that she was turning into one.

"What can I help you with today, child?" the Elven priest asked as Mune approached him. She blinked at him cluelessly for a moment as he drew her out of her thoughts unexpectedly. Remembering what it was that she came for, Mune cleared her throat and stood a little straighter. Even though it pained her to swallow her pride to such a degree, she'd made sure that she'd polished her armor, and scrubbed her skin until it was raw. She had earned such a bad reputation in the city that she knew she'd have to go the extra length to get the Elven Priest to even look at her.

"I've come to plea for the release of Calisan Teristen from the dungeons below Schuttgart." Mune recited her memorized line carefully, making certain that she spoke clearly and maturely. She bit back the sarcastic retorts as the Priest first gave her a confused look, and then a haughty one.

"Calisan Teristen? That sad excuse for an Elf?" the Priest asked, seemingly aghast that Mune would ask for such a thing. "Why in the world should he be released from prison? He rightly deserves what he got!" Mune clenched her jaw and tightly leashed her temper, greatly resisting the urge to shake the man in front of her. She said nothing, and waited for the Priest to speak again.

"He and the rest of his kin deserve to rot in a jail. That Ballard Felagund…brought nothing but despair to Elves everywhere." The Priest stated hatefully, folding his arms across his chest. "The only one of his family that actually made a sensible choice in their life was that one…Cesa I think her name is. I pity the girl for having come from such a family." The priest shifted on his feet, and clasped his hands behind his back. "The rest, I can't even begin to point out their sins." He said distastefully, as if ridding himself of an unpleasant flavor.

"Do tell." Mune said through clenched teeth, her voice hard. Her fists were balled so tightly at her sides that her nails bit into her palms. It was taking every ounce of self control to not slug the Priest, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold her temper.

"Well first off, that Calisan gave up his Eva-blessed gift for battle to become a drunken merchant. Secondly, his twin Lavinia whom we all thought would go somewhere great with her life settled down with an ORC of all things. Dark Elves I could somewhat excuse, but an ORC? Those things are more beast than sentient! And now I hear she's given birth to its spawn!" the priest shuddered in disgust with the thought, and then sniffed in a pompous manner. "Ballard himself brought disgrace to our kind…did you know he fathered a child with a Dark Elven woman?" he whispered. Mune stared at him evenly, but didn't give him an answer. She was too worried that she would reach out and snap the priest's neck if she moved. "And then that Mune…I can't even begin to start with her. She's barbaric, rude…and just between us I hear she's as dumpy as a human housewife." The priest shook his head, oblivious to the colors Mune's face was turning. "Anyway, I shall put your plea in with the head priest. Whom shall I say is making the plea?" he asked, returning to his professional air now that he'd ranted.

"Calisan's sister Mune." She growled. The priest first looked at her as if he thought she were joking, but then slowly came to realize she was glaring at him murderously. Without saying another word to him she turned on heel and marched away, leaving the Priest behind her, stuttering incomprehensible apologies. Feeling that the Priest wouldn't put her plea in despite his claim, Mune stalked into the adjoining room off of the main sanctuary and brought her plea to the Elven Swordmaster there. This request went quickly and smoothly, leaving Mune with plenty of free time to take her anger out on the wooden, rope-covered training dummies lined up and down the center of the guild room.

"I should've known you'd come here of all places." Evzen's voice came as she paused to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She spun around quickly as he approached her slowly, her arm raised mid-wipe. She'd been beating on the training dummy for nearly an hour without rest, and hadn't seen or heard his arrival before then.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice hard. Evzen paused mid-step to look at her with large eyes, shocked by her reaction. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head as she glared at him, suddenly stricken with nervousness.

"Nothing, I just haven't had a chance to properly greet you is all." He stated politely, holding out his hand in a friendly gesture. Mune glanced down at it, but didn't take it.

"What, were you too embarrassed to greet me as you are, a cradle robbing freak?" she snapped. Evzen dropped his hand in an instant to stare at her, aghast.

"What…why would you say something like that?" he asked her in a soft voice. It stunned him to hear such hateful words coming from her. They held more poison than her old spiteful insults that she'd flung in his direction in the past because of his being a Dark Elf.

"Because it's true." She stated, matter-of-fact. She shifted on her feet and planted the tip of one of her swords between the metal plates on her boots. "Linit is almost young enough to be your own daughter. Does it give you a thrill to be bedding a girl who was only twelve years old last I saw you?" she regarded him with narrowed eyes, and stuck her jaw out slightly. Evzen's expression both filled her with grief to cause and pleased her; he looked as if he would cry.

"Mune…I didn't come here to argue with you. I don't know why you're being so hateful…but Linit is a very nice girl." Evzen began, slowly gaining confidence as he spoke. "And for your information, I have been nothing but the perfect gentleman with her. I am quite aware of our age difference, and I intend to keep our relationship one of innocence until she is older." Mune's eyes widened as he stood a little straighter, and returned her hateful glare with an authoritative one. The backbone he was suddenly displaying was surprising to her, and somewhere deep in her heart she found it thrilling. "If you're so jealous, why did you cast me aside all those years ago? It could be you on my arm now instead of her."

Mune's heart squeezed so tightly with his words that she felt as if it were going to implode upon itself. Her throat tightened, and she could feel her eyes once again sting as tears began to well there. She swallowed hard against it, and turned around to stab the training dummy behind her with her sword. It lodged between the heavy ropes protecting the wood, right where the heart would be if it were human.

"Jealous? ME? Jealous of not having YOU? Don't make me laugh!" she said loudly, making sure to laugh. "Why in the world would I have wanted to keep a cowardly, Dark Elven noble who probably can't even dress himself or wipe his own ass without help?" she laughed loudly in his face again, the volume of her voice disguising the grief there. "I mean look at you, you can't even rule your own country without having a board of directors behind you! Why would I want a man as indecisive as that? You truly are a joke!"

Evzen reeled backwards with her words, his expression conveying the state of heartbreak he was feeling better than words could. He'd been so foolish, thinking wildly for even a moment that Mune had cried before because of his relationship with Linit. No, Linit must've been correct; it must've just been because of Ballard.

"I loved you." Evzen said in a voice so soft it was barely audible. Mune's hysterical laughter cut off as if someone had taken a pair of scissors to it and snipped, and she looked at him with large eyes. She began to tremble, and she balled her fists at her sides.

"Get away from me." She ordered in a low voice, pulling her sword from the dummy and taking a step away from him. "Never, ever come near me again." She spun on her heel and rushed past him on her way out of the warrior guild. Evzen stared hard at the hole she'd made in the training dummy, a muscle in his cheek jumping as he ground his teeth. His first conversation with Mune in over five years…and it didn't go anything remotely close to what he'd hoped.

Unbeknownst to him, a person had entered the warrior's guild as he and Mune argued. Linit stood in the shadows of a richly decorated tapestry next to the door, her expression dark as she watched the storm of emotions play out on Evzen's face.

Later on that afternoon, Mune was granted access to Schuttgart Castle's dungeon. The light in the dungeon was dim and gray, only a little brighter in the cells that were granted a small rectangular window set high in the wall. Snow had fallen into some cells and made little piles on the floor. Many cells held shivering prisoners, some mournfully reaching out to her with gangrenous fingers. The guard led her past many rooms used for interrogation, and she winced at the various torture devices that were within it.

"You have twenty minutes." The guard commanded as he pointed to Calisan's cell. Mune's eyes widened slightly as she found her brother slumped against the iron bars of the cell, hugging himself to keep warm. She'd been granted permission to bring him any necessity that she'd thought he would need, just so long as it was pre-approved by the guards.

"Good gods Calisan, what happened to your clothes?" she asked as she knelt beside the cell. Reaching between the bars she shook out the heavy wool blanket she'd bought with her, and covered him with it. He opened his eyes as she covered him with it, and tilted his head curiously. He looked dirty, bloody and malnourished. His silvery blonde hair had taken on a yellowed gray contrast due to lack of hygiene, and he smelled of sewage. His clothes were barely even scraps, having been torn and shredded from abuse. He'd never been one to grow much facial hair, but he'd been in the dungeon so long that he sported a pale-haired goatee. She wrinkled her nose as he shifted, catching a whiff of his body odor.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a wince, as he turned around from leaning against the bars to look at her. Mune sat back on her feet and frowned, finding his words to be too familiar for comfort.

"Why wouldn't I come, you're stuck in jail and you need a family member to bail you out." She stated, putting her hands on her hips. Calisan winced again and grunted in pain as he moved, and then shifted so that he was lying more on his hip than sitting, and leaned against the wall. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, taking note of his strange position.

"Some guard raped my ass." He said with a heavy sigh. "He was under some weird assumption that there were no male Light Elves, so he decided to make me his bitch for the night." Mune's eyes widened, and she gripped the bars of his cell. She couldn't believe that her brother had said something so serious in such an easy going tone.

"How can you be so calm about it? Calisan, this is serious!" Mune exclaimed, looking around to see if she could guess which guard would've done such a thing.

"It's no big deal Mune, that kind of shit happens down here." Calisan stated, wincing again. "I was expecting it from day one; I'm really surprised it took them this long. Personally I take it as a compliment. Means I'm so hot that not even guys can keep their hands off of me." He gave her a toothy grin with this, earning a groan from her. She hid her face with her hand and shook her head, knowing that only her brother could have the mindset to turn rape into a compliment. "Besides," he added, leaning in close to her, "See that cell over there?" he nodded to an empty cell across from him, and Mune glanced over her shoulder at it. "Up until today it held a Temple Knight like me…a woman. I much prefer that the guard went after me instead of her. If I had fought him, he would've gone right after her instead." Mune's lips parted slightly as her brother sat back, giving her an even look. Mune shifted uncomfortably as her brother's chivalry always affected her in ways that she least expected it to.

"Other than the butt love you received, why do you look like crap?" Mune asked, changing the subject quickly. "Didn't Koyori bring you any necessities while you were down here?" She frowned again as Calisan shrugged, and shifted to sit as her legs became numb.

"She did a couple of times, but I gave it to the woman, who then shared it with her boyfriend. He's still down here unfortunately, in the cell next to the one she was in." he stated nonchalantly. Mune glanced over her shoulder again, and saw a human with almond-shaped eyes and long, dirty blonde colored hair staring at her. He sat against the stone wall, and was covered in two dirty blankets. Mune turned away from him slowly, resisting the urge to turn his blank stare into a contest.

"Why isn't she here anymore, anyway? I expected her to be down here every day." Mune asked as she returned her attention onto her brother. He looked down at the ground as she waited for his response, and it seemed to her as if the chilly air became colder.

"Business hasn't been the best since Spicy Pixie got the monopoly on potions and soulshots in Goddard." Calisan began, his blanket shifting as he played with the weave from beneath it. "I haven't been making as much, so as you can imagine, Koyori's interests are shifting elsewhere." He finished quickly, smiling at her. "I don't blame her, she has this lifelong dream she wants to achieve, and right now, I wouldn't help her achieve it."

"That bitch." Mune growled, as Calisan's smile tuned sad. "I'll kill her next time I see her." Calisan chuckled at this, but said nothing in response. The pair was silent for a moment; the only sounds in the dungeon those of the other prisoners sniffling and shivering, and the blow of wind outside. "Oh!" Mune exclaimed, remembering why she ventured down in the first place. "I sent in the plea to get you out of here, so it's just a waiting process for now." She said, giving him a triumphant smirk. "What got you put down here anyway? You leave the bar without paying your tab?" Calisan chuckled again and pushed himself to sit upright.

"Something like that." He stated as he settled against the wall once more. "It was more of a bar fight though. Nearly killed the guy too…he'll never call Temple Knights useless again." He grinned in pride with this, and Mune rolled her eyes. It was a big complex of Calisan's when others called his chosen profession useless. While other races trained their knights in speed or strength, Elves taught their knights endurance, and they learned the spells and skills that would help them keep their own strength up instead of relying on others. Unfortunately, this left them not as strong physically as others believed a Knight should be, and they received much scorn for it.

"That's it? A bar fight got you in jail?" she asked incredulously. "What in the world were you fighting over?" Calisan didn't respond, and only continued smiling cheesily at her. Mune sighed bitterly and rolled her eyes. "I can imagine it had something to do with your last comment, never mind." She grumbled.

"Time's up!" the guard snapped, startling her. Mune glared at him as she stood, and adjusted her dress to cover her hips better.

"Oh yeah, if that guy ends up dead once I'm out of here, I didn't do it." Calisan stated loudly in a lighthearted tone. Mune's eyes widened and she looked up at the guard whom had snapped. The guard's face paled beneath his helmet, and he hurried away from Calisan's cell. Calisan laughed, and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders better. "Aw, so that's why he hasn't called after our night of passion…he's embarrassed." He gloated.

"You'd better watch, or he's going to either do it to you again or torture you." Mune warned, glaring down at her brother. Calisan merely shrugged, and snuggled beneath the heavy fabric.

"Tell him to bring it. As unpleasant as it is, it'd be a relief to this boredom down here." Calisan mumbled. He shut his eyes as if to sleep, and Mune sighed heavily.

As she passed the blonde-haired human's cell, another Light Elf suddenly emerged from the shadows ahead of her and crashed into her headfirst. The elf, a woman, stumbled backwards, and Mune crashed to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the woman exclaimed, leaning over instantly to help Mune to her feet. A brown paper bag that she held in her arms suddenly deposited six large oranges on Mune's head as the woman leaned over, and she winced and curled up, holding the spot they pummeled. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" the woman exclaimed, kneeling now to pick up the food. Mune glared over her shoulder as the human in the cell began to laugh.

"I seem to get hurt a lot up here, so it's no big deal." Mune grumbled, helping the woman gather her scattered oranges. After the woman's scattered food had been replaces back in its bag (she only seemed to scatter more as she tried to put the oranges away), Mune helped her to her feet.

She was a blonde elf, quite a bit taller than Mune herself, and willowy of frame. She reminded her of Cesa in build, but her arms and shoulders spoke of fierce strength. She wore red and black armor that Mune recognized to be called Nightmare, the very same armor that Narlafayn wore.

"I'm really; really sorry I knocked you over." The woman apologized, hugging her grocery bag to her chest. "I didn't hurt you did I? My armor's enchanted to reflect any impact, and I hope I didn't hurt you." She glanced over Mune's face and arms with concern, and sighed in relief as it appeared Mune had no broken bones.

"That's why it felt like I was being hit with a golem…" she muttered under her breath, glancing away from the woman.

"Isera…" the man in the cell called, peering out at them. The woman in front of Mune jumped to attention, and hurried past her without another word. She fell to her knees beside him, and hugged him as best she could through the bars.

"They say you'll only be in here a couple more days…Siuman was just a little slow in turning in our appeals." Isera stated softly. Mune shut her eyes into an annoyed line as the pair kissed, and then suddenly snapped open as she realized they were a couple.

"Wait; were you the girl in the cell across from my brother?" Mune asked bluntly. The pair parted from their passionate kiss to look at Mune in surprise. The man seemed annoyed by the interruption, but Isera smiled broadly.

"You're family of Calisan? You're very lucky, he's a wonderful person." Isera said without hesitation, smiling warmly. "He kept me safe the week I was down here, I'm eternally grateful to him." Her lover reached out and took her hand and squeezed it tightly, and glanced up to Mune as well.

"We both are, it's not pleasant being helpless when the one you care for is within reach, but you can do nothing to protect them." He said, giving Isera a loving look. "Forgive me for not telling you my real name, but folks call me Stoney." He introduced. "And that lovely being is Isera."

"I'm Mune…" Mune said hesitantly. She felt her introduction was lost, as the pair seemed to dissolve into a world all their own as Isera handed him the food she brought with her. A strange feeling welled up inside of Mune as she watched them for a moment longer, a feeling that left her lonely for a companion. Evzen's hurt expression instantly came to mind, and she shook her head fiercely. Leaving the human and Elf behind, Mune turned and made her way up the stairs that would lead her to a friendlier place.

Linit remained hidden in the church for nearly an hour after Evzen finally made his way from the Warrior's guild. She did not move to comfort him as he stared at the training dummy that Mune had stabbed, tears very obviously brimming in his eyes. She didn't follow him as Krystof arrived to take him back to the castle. She'd moved out of the shadow of the tapestry and left herself in plain sight, but Evzen didn't see her, and had passed her without even a glance. Now she wandered out of the church, walking like a lost child. Bilia looked up as Linit passed her, and tilted her head curiously as she saw the vacant look on her face.

"Linit?" she called, excusing herself from a family that was trying to request a port from her. Holding her heavy headdress on her head, she lifted her skirt with her other hand and rushed after the younger girl. "Linit? What's the matter?" she asked, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder when she didn't acknowledge Bilia's voice. Linit slowly turned to look at Bilia, her expression regaining life as she focused on her face. She burst into loud tears a moment later, and flung herself onto her.

"He tricked me Bilia! He made it seem as if he never knew her! He even told her he loved her!" Linit sobbed, hugging Bilia tightly. Bewildered, the Gatekeeper stumbled slightly with the press of the teen clinging to her, and put both hands on her headdress to keep it from falling. She winced as people began to glare at her for abandoning her post, and tried to inch back towards the church steps. Linit wasn't going to release her any time soon, might as well try to do her job while the girl cried…

"Wow, I never expected Evzen to be secretive." Bilia said later after Linit told her everything that had transpired. Linit sat against the metal plated church exterior behind Bilia, her hands shoved under her bottom to keep them warm. She'd finally detached herself from the Gatekeeper to let her work, and had finally stopped crying.

"He's not been secretive about anything else before…not even his past engagement to you after he found out we were friends…why would he do this to me now?" Linit asked, sniffling loudly. Bilia smiled warmly as a customer presented her with money, and spoke the spell that would take them to their destination. She fought greatly against the triumphant grin that wanted to appear on her face. While she was honestly friends with Linit, it did nothing but please her to pieces to hear of Mune having difficulty.

"Well, I can only assume it's because he's embarrassed by her." Bilia finally said after a moment. While she knew in her heart of hearts that Evzen hadn't mentioned Mune because the sentimental idiot probably harbored feelings for her still, but she couldn't resist the chance to turn someone against the blonde Swordsinger. Linit glanced up with interest at Bilia's words, and again the Gatekeeper struggled with keeping her expression serious.

"Why would he be embarrassed?" she asked curiously. Bilia sighed heavily and adjusted her headdress.

"I'm not sure I should be speaking of this…but…Mune comes from a very heretical family." Bilia stated in a low voice, finding a break in customers to kneel before the girl. "Why, she got Evzen involved with pagans in Rune, and allowed brigands to nearly kill him back during the war with Elmore!" Bilia put a hand on Linit's curly head as the girl stared at her in horror, never before hearing of either event. "The proclamation of love you heard him utter was no more than just the remnants of the evil spell she cast upon him with her song. The poor man has gone through so much, it's a wonder he's still so gentle."

Bilia backed away in surprise as Linit suddenly jumped to her feet, a dark look upon her face. "How could she!" Linit growled, her fists balled at her sides. Bilia suddenly felt very nervous about her half-truth, and desperately tried to think of a way to calm the girl's temper before her lie was found out.

"Yes well…it was in the past now, so perhaps it's just best to forget I said anything…" she tittered nervously, standing as well. Her eyes widened as Linit's expression turned hateful, and a soft growling noise emanated from her. She glanced over her shoulder fearfully as she realized Linit had focused on something, and panic began to surge through her limbs as Mune wandered across the city square behind them. She had just returned from the castle, and was on her way to the Clan Hall to write a letter to Narlafayn and Terebel, to tell them of everything that had happened thus far.

"YOU BITCH!" Linit screeched, flying towards Mune. The Elf had only a moment to look at Linit in shock and realize that it was to her that the teen had shouted at before being knocked down. Linit growled and clawed at Mune's face and pulled at her hair. Mune cried out in pain as nails scratched her, and tried to both fend off the girl's fingers and keep her hair from being pulled at the same time.

"Get off of me you lunatic!" Mune shouted. Linit gave up trying to pull her hair and grabbed Mune by her shoulder guards and began to shake her as hard as she could. The movement slammed Mune's head into the ground, but left her open enough for the Elf to clap Linit over her ears and knock her off.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mune shouted as the two stood up shakily. A crowd had begun to gather around them, and watched them eagerly. Linit held her head and doubled over, and Mune wiped at the scratches adorning her cheeks.

"How could you do that to Evzen you succubus! How could you get him involved with pagans and let people almost kill him and even put an evil dark spell upon his heart? I thought you were better than that Mune! I've trusted you my whole life!" Linit cried, looking up at Mune with a tear-streaked face. She still held her ears, and Mune secretly hoped she hadn't burst the girl's eardrums.

"Where in the world would you get stupid ideas like that? Dark magic? What the hell Linit, where would I learn that?" Mune demanded, staring at the girl on the ground in horror.

"Don't lie to me; I won't believe a word you say! You led me on to believe you and Evzen had never met before, and then Bilia tells me everything that's happened…" Linit shot back, crying openly. Mune's attention was on the Gatekeeper in a second, whom she found trying to inch her way behind the gathering crowd.

"BILIA! I'm going to KILL YOU!" Mune snarled, dashing towards her. Bilia cried out in fear, and fled into the village as fast as she could while holding her dress in one hand and headdress in the other.

Just entering Schuttgart, the two travelers were nearly knocked down as Bilia surged past them, bumping into the one whom carried a shield roughly and then pushing away from him. She yelped as Mune followed in her trail with a sword drawn, nearly taking out the shield-wearer's companion.

"GET BACK HERE!" Mune shouted, not even noticing the two men as she raced after the Gatekeeper. The two travelers watched the women race in circles around the Schuttgart Manor manager, the man crying out in fear as Mune's sword nearly cut him twice as she swung at Bilia.

"Wow, now that's not something I expected to see upon entering. I was always under the impression that Schuttgart was a quiet town." The shield-bearer stated. He snickered to himself as Bilia launched her headdress at Mune, the metal plate of which smacked the Swordsinger in the face. "We'll have to remember to stay out of that Elf's way while we're here, she seems a bit unstable. And by unstable I mean completely psychotic. Who draws a sword in town these days?" The man said, twirling a finger by his ear in an indication of Mune's mental state. His eyes widened slightly as he heard the strangest noise come from his companion as he watched Mune's antics, and the shield-wearer pushed back his hood to look at him better. The face that was revealed was of a black-haired Dark Elf, his face dusted with the lightest of goatees. "Did you just laugh?" he asked incredulously, never before hearing such a sound come from his companion.

"No." his companion said in a voice devoid of emotion. The Dark Elf eyed him warily for a moment before shrugging. "Alright, let's go see if your people migrated this far north and built a guild house yet. Might as well not waste any time here." He said, moving into the city. His companion lingered behind for a moment longer, and watched Mune with an unreadable expression. His eyes, some would say, were almost nostalgic.


	13. Chapter 12

"Lord Evzen has arrived." Krystof's voice preceded him as he led Evzen into the small meeting room that the city council had gathered within. It was time for the daily hearing of complaints and issues regarding his city, but he felt like doing nothing more than sitting in his office chair and brooding. A messenger raced up to Krystof as Evzen slowly made his way to the seat reserved for him at the head of a long rectangular table, and whispered urgently in the manservant's ear. Krystof questioned the messenger's words with a hiss, and looked at the boy with large eyes. "Excuse me Lord Evzen." Krystof murmured, bowing as he excused himself from the room. He shut the doors in his wake, leaving Evzen alone to a council of seven men.

"Alright, first off on the agenda; the newly refurbished mining project in the Plunderous Plains has finally opened to workers. Your presence was requested by the foreman to inspect the mine shaft, Lord Evzen. What response shall I give him?" the first councilman to Evzen's left asked, looking at the castle lord patiently. Evzen stared blankly at the table, and gave no motion of hearing him.

"Evzen." Tacitus whispered loudly, shaking Evzen's arm. Evzen jumped slightly in his chair, and focused on his father, confused. "Are you willing to go visit the new mine shaft?" the aged Dwarf asked, searching his son's face in concern. Evzen blinked rapidly and sat up straight in his chair as he cleared his throat.

"Um yes, yes of course I will." He stated, straightening the decorative jacket over his tunic. He put on his best business face and placed his arms on the gray slate table in front of him and finally focused on the man whom had spoken.

"Excellent! I shall let the foreman know of your interest and we shall arrange a day for you to head out." The councilman stated happily, scribbling something on the paper in front of him. The man next to him cleared his throat next, and shuffled through the papers in front of him.

"Very minor reports from the church today Lord Evzen. We have the usual shopping list for holy wafers and sanctity stones, but nothing of immediate issue." The man said professionally as he scanned his papers. "Oh, yes. There was also a plea put in for the release of an Eva's Templar that we seem to have put in prison. The plea was put in by one Mune Teristen for her brother Calisan Teristen. Shall we discuss it?" Tacitus raised an eyebrow as Evzen suddenly became honestly attentive, and shook his head as his son lost his business demeanor with the mention of Mune's name.

"Teristen, isn't that the name of the late Hierarch Felagund's family?" another man asked curiously. There were several murmurs from the men with this realization, as the Schuttgart council held mixed feelings about Ballard's family after his murder and the subsequent awakening of the Destroyer. Many still blamed Mune for the adventure Evzen had put himself through as he tried to escape his former engagement to Bilia even now, five years after the engagement was formally canceled.

"I say release him, he's done no more harm than have a little too much to drink." Evzen said easily, falling back into the mask of a businessman. There were murmurs of consideration, and most of the men nodded. They trusted Evzen's opinion without question, and the Schuttgart lord fought against the smile on his face. Surely, surely now Mune would smile for him…

"I'm terribly sorry gentlemen, but I must object to this motion." A new voice said. Evzen's eyes widened at the familiarity of it, and the councilman that sat at the very end of the table, hidden behind the large bulk of another, sat up. Both Evzen and Tacitus stood up as they recognized the face of Esham, Bilia's father and the former Lord of Schuttgart.

"Guards, get this man out of here!" Tacitus commanded, pointing at Esham. The former lord, once always seen in heavy silver armor, now wore the heavily decorated clothes of a nobleman, and held up his hands in surrender, a smile on his face.

"Sir Tacitus, surely you must be joking. Sir Esham was accepted onto the council earlier this week." The first councilman to Evzen's left stated, bewildered by the Dwarf's reaction. Both Evzen and his father looked at the man in shock, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Many pardons Lord Evzen, but you signed the petition for his being placed on the council yourself. I have the paper here." Another councilman stated, pulling an official document from his stack. Tacitus snatched it from the man's hands quickly, and scanned over it with his eyes.

"This is a forgery, I haven't signed anything!" Evzen exclaimed, glancing over his father's head.

"You didn't? That's a pity. What's done is done I'm afraid; you'll have to put up with me until another official petition is made. Once that's done I will very calmly step down, don't worry." Esham said smoothly, bowing his head respectively. His eyes never left Evzen's face, and an icy feeling washed over the Shilen Elder. Both men sat down slowly, their eyes never leaving Esham's figure.

"To get back on track…what is the reason for your objection to the plea, Sir Esham?" the first councilman asked after clearing his throat nervously. Esham smiled as if waiting for the question, and stood up.

"Gentleman of the council, it pains me to have to object to this motion, but it is to my belief that the entirety of the Teristen family is heretical and violent. Hierarch Felagund aside, his family unfortunately inherited none of his good intentions." Esham began, taking measured steps around the councilmen at the table. "Take his youngest granddaughter for instance, not only did she kidnap Lord Evzen five years ago, she put him in the path of the Fire Dragon Valakas itself, and even allowed brigands from her own village to humiliate him. I think the girl needs to be driven out, not be allowed to make pleas for criminals."

"That is an untruth and you know it! I made it clear ages ago that Mune did not kidnap me!" Evzen snapped, slamming his hands on the table as he looked up at Esham. The councilmen's eyes widened with this reaction, and a few murmured between themselves. Evzen realized the error of his words the instant he'd uttered them; he'd called Mune by her name, thus telling the entire council of his closeness to the Teristen family.

"Well, that aside Lord Evzen, I must simply state that Calisan Teristen alone is enough to keep him in jail. This isn't the first report that the city has had of him drinking until intoxicated and taking aggression out on good people. He is a dangerous lush I'm afraid, and staying down there will be beneficial to not only us, but himself as well." Esham said in a voice that could be mistaken as sympathetic. "Think of it gentlemen, he's causing fights in his drunkenness now, but what about next time? We all know what kinds of urges hit us, we've all taken too much to drink before…who can say when he won't turn his sights on one of our daughters or wives? I don't know about you, but I don't want to risk that. I wouldn't put my daughter in that kind of danger." Esham said, pausing briefly behind Evzen's chair.

"You snake charmer, stop filling their heads with lies!" Tacitus said in a hard voice, glaring at the taller man.

"Are you quite done?" Evzen asked in a voice similar in tone. "The Teristen family is completely harmless. Calisan Teristen had a good reason to get into the fight that he did, I've visited the dungeons and spoken with him myself. He…" Evzen's words were lost as a commotion outside of the meeting room drew everyone's attention. Evzen rose from his seat and opened the doors in a hurry, fearing that there was an attack on his city. What he found was far from citywide danger, however.

Krystof stood in front of Evzen's desk with a hand on his forehead as two guards attempted to detain a struggling Mune and Bilia. Both women were bruised and bloodied, but the worst of bruises seemed to decorate Bilia. She sported a black eye and her nose had been hit. Blood stained the traditional white Elmorean Gatekeeper dress, and she kicked at Mune as she was dragged away by the guard holding her arms. Mune snarled loudly like a madwoman, and struggled against her own guard, her hands clenched into claws as she tried to reach for some part of Bilia.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Mune shouted as she tried to squirm out of the guard's arms. The councilmen behind Evzen gasped at the language used by the granddaughter of their beloved Hierarch Felagund, and Evzen shut his eyes as dread settled over him.

"Just try it, bitch!" Bilia retorted, and spit at Mune. Her saliva fell short, and decorated the arm of the guard who held her instead.

"Would you both just knock it off?" Krystof finally shouted. "You are in the presence of the council of Schuttgart for Einhasad's glorious sake! Is this how you want the town elders see you behave?" Both women ceased in struggling as they realized they had an audience, and Bilia dissolved into her good-girl act.

"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry you had to see my temper." Bilia attempted to say, smiling nervously as she tried to reclaim their high opinion of her. The guards seemed to have been surprised by the audience as well, and the one holding Mune let his grip on her arms go slack for a moment. Mune took the chance, and slipped out of his hands. With a growl she pounced on Bilia, taking them both to the floor. The councilmen watched with large eyes as the girls rolled on the floor, fighting like angry cats.

"Yes, the Teristen family is so very harmless." Esham stated in an angry voice loud enough for the rest of the council to hear. Evzen shrunk into himself slightly as several angry glares turned on him. He immediately identified what the dread he'd felt was; it was the feeling of loosing the favor of the council for the first time since he'd become the Lord of Schuttgart.

"Gods above Mune, why couldn't you control your temper on this day of all days?" Evzen asked later. He sat at his desk with his head in his hands as the rest of the council delegated in the meeting room. Mune sat in a chair in front of him, getting patched up by Evzen's youngest brother, Masaya. Masaya was a teenage cleric, although he seemed to have barely any magic in his body. He was excellent at conventional first aid however, and was applying salves and bandages to Mune's wounds expertly.

"Screw you; you're not the boss of me." Mune snipped, wincing as Masaya applied a salve to one of the many nail scratches on her face. The normally complacent Lord of Schuttgart had been pushed to his wits end that day, and he wasn't in the mood to play Mune's power games.

"While you're in my city I am the boss of you. You'll do wise to remember that unless you want to end up in a cell next to your brother for a night for what you did to the city's Gatekeeper." Evzen stated sternly. Mune's eyes flew open from the glare she's narrowed them to, and gaped at him in shock. Never, ever had she heard him command anyone, especially her.

"Sh…She started it!" Mune exclaimed shrilly, too stunned by his authoritive air to argue him properly.

"It doesn't matter, she's a resident of this city and you're a visitor. I'm sad to say her word takes precedence over yours." Evzen said without emotion. Mune jerked away from Masaya and stood up, her eyes large in horror.

"Did being a castle Lord give you a big head and less sense or something? You'd side with that lying sack of giant's fecal matter before even listening to me?" she demanded, pointing a shaking hand towards the door that Bilia had exited through.

"I'd hope he'd side with me, I'm his girlfriend." Linit's voice came. Still pointing, Mune turned towards the door to find that she'd pointed at Linit unintentionally. She lowered her arm quickly, and watched the girl as she approached the desk. Mune's expression hardened as Linit glared at her, and Masaya backed away from them in fear.

"I'm so sorry Evzen…I know this whole ordeal is taxing you." Linit suddenly said in a soothing voice, dismissing Mune as quickly as blinking. She stepped around the desk and began stroking Evzen's hair away from his face in her usual comforting manner. She glanced at Mune briefly, and the Swordsinger looked away from them quickly, her jaw set. Linit was purposefully trying to wound Mune's heart, and she honestly tried to control her temper this time.

Linit withdrew her hand with a soft gasp as Evzen involuntarily jerked away from her. His eyes widened and he looked up at her, shocked by his own reaction. They stared at one another for a moment, Linit's expression openly one of a girl rejected. Tears slowly welled in her eyes, and Evzen reached for her. She stepped away from him, and turned a hateful glare onto Mune.

"Why did you come up here and ruin our relationship? What are you to him, why won't you just leave him alone! You guys broke up ages ago, just give up on him already and leave him to someone who cares about him!" Linit cried, her voice raspy as her tears came. Mune began to tremble, and her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"Linit, I think you have the wrong idea…" Evzen tried, his heart hurting for how Linit cried. He attempted to reach for her again, but she jerked from his reach this time, and hugged herself.

"How dare you speak to me like that? How dare you ask me those questions?" Mune said in a low voice. Her mind was strangely empty even though she spoke, and she didn't recognize her own voice. "You're the interloper, how dare you come in and think you can take his heart from m…"

"The council has reached a conclusion." Krystof announced, interrupting Mune. She looked away from Linit and Evzen as Evzen stared at her, stunned by what she had nearly confessed. "Lord Evzen…" Krystof spoke, trying to gain Evzen's attention off of Mune. He turned his eyes onto his manservant with difficulty, and tried to focus.

"Yes? What was the conclusion?" he asked, clearing his throat. Tacitus stepped out of the meeting room with a somber expression. He adjusted the glasses on his nose and took a shaky breath as he held a paper up. The air in the room suddenly felt cold to Mune, and goosebumps broke out on her skin as she watched the Dwarf struggle with his own emotions.

"We the council…find Calisan Teristen…too much of a hazard to moral society. We have reached the decision to extend his time in prison by another two months, after which his appeal may be reviewed once more." He said, his voice trembling. Mune began talking at once, protesting the decision. "Furthermore…" Tacitus continued in a loud voice over hers. Mune shut her mouth and glared over Tacitus' shoulder, and waited for him to continue. "We the council also find the sister of Calisan Teristen to also be a moral hazard, and demand her evacuation of Schuttgart Castle Town within twenty-four hours of this reading. That is all." Tacitus turned slowly and re-entered the meeting room, where he shut the door. Krystof was next to Mune in an instant, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Come along Miss Teristen. You're no longer allowed in the castle." Krystof said, not bothering to mask the glee in his voice. Mune pulled out of his grip as he attempted to pull her from the room, and looked down her nose at Evzen.

"So that's it, huh? You're going to let some powerless peons run your city for you even though you know they're wrong, is that it?" she asked, her voice calm, but hard. "And here I'd thought you'd grown a backbone…I guess you're still as spineless as ever." She turned on heel with that, and marched past Krystof on her own.

"He's more man than anyone in your family would ever be!" Linit shouted in Evzen's defense. Mune froze mid-step, and clenched her hands.

"Linit, that was out of line and unnecessary. You speak ill of not just her family but my friends as well." Evzen stated in a low voice. Linit's mouth shut with a loud click of her teeth, and she stared at Evzen with large eyes. She began to cry in earnest then, as she realized her spiteful words had just made the situation far worse than it had been before. Unable to find the strength to argue, Mune continued on after the pause, and exited the office.

She left the castle without bother from anyone, and briskly walked on the thirty-minute journey to the town. Tears began to prick her eyes as anger welled in her chest at the previous events, and she swallowed hard against both. She increased her pace of travel as she walked up the long staircases leading into the raised city, and hurried through the town towards the church. She refused to let herself dissolve into tears again, and she knew she needed to take her emotions out on something. The training dummies in the warrior guild instantly sprang to mind, and she rushed through town as fast as she could.

Her rushed travel came to a halt as she stumbled to stop just inside of the church. In the center of the sanctuary sat a small statue made of gray stone upon a pedestal only a few shades darker. Her grief and rage forgotten, Mune took a few steps into the sanctuary, her eyes large and glued to the stone face of the statue. A perfect, serene-faced representation of Ballard stood before her. Her breath fled as she took a few steps around the statue to inspect his face; the sculptor had recaptured Ballard perfectly, from the details of his hair to his relaxed posture. She felt like the statue was going to come to life any second, and smile down at her warmly.

"Grandpa." She whispered, her throat tightening unexpectedly and choking her. Mune tore her gaze away from the statue and raised a hand to her throat as she swallowed with difficulty. Too many emotions were bombarding her at once now, and she tried to desperately compose herself lest she begin crying in the church of all places, in front of her grandfather's statue.

Feeling eyes upon her, Mune raised her head swiftly. Her eyes widened slightly as a man with short blue hair the same color as her eyes and with skin fairer than even Cesa's, stared at her from around the other side of the statue. His eyes were narrowed, but expressionless, and half of his face was obscured from Mune's standpoint by Ballard's leg. Every feeling left Mune's body as she stared back at him curiously, leaving her heart in peace. There was something familiar about the chiseled faced man in front of her, and she tried to quickly think of where she might've seen him before. They stared at one another for many minutes, before the man finally shut his eyes and moved away from the statue.

"Wait!" Mune exclaimed, stepping towards the spot where the man had been standing. A rustling, almost similar in noise to the flapping of a bird's wing, met her ears from behind her, and she spun quickly to look at it. She caught sight of the man just as he disappeared around the corner of the church entryway, the ends of his traveler cloak showing her the path he traveled. "Hey, wait!" Mune called, hurrying after him. She wondered how he'd traveled past her so quickly, as there shouldn't have been any reason for him to be that far ahead of her yet.

Bilia winced and covered herself protectively as Mune emerged from the church breathless. She'd been healed by her family's private bishop, and promptly returned to her post. She slowly stood from the protective stance she'd taken, and narrowed her eyes slightly as Mune stood at the top of the steps panting as she glanced around the square. Mune gasped loudly, and took off into the city as something caught her eye, and Bilia tilted her head curiously as the Swordsinger disappeared down the second set of stairs leading from the square into the residential section reserved for the poor.

"Hey, stop!" Mune called, stumbling as she raced down the stairs. She tumbled and fell onto her side, wincing as her armor dug into her skin.

"Are you all right?" one of the guards positioned at the bottom of the steps asked in concern, reaching for her. He backed away as he recognized her from hours earlier, when she was murderously chasing Bilia. Mune rolled her eyes at his fearful expression and brushed the bits of moist dirt and snow from her legs as she stood. Most of the roads in Schuttgart were always covered with a thin layer of snow, although usually the townsfolk were good about keeping their own personal areas swept.

Mune caught sight of the man's cloak as he disappeared down the road that led to the far end of the city, where she knew the black marketers and scummier of the cities inhabitants dwelled. The entirety of Schuttgart was shaped as a half-circle, and would end abruptly at the wall of the mountain it was built into. The particular end that Mune found herself racing towards, had a reputation of being a den of thieves, and a place where murderers would hide while they waited for others to forget the crimes they'd done. Evzen himself had tried to obliterate the zone, thinking of the safety of his people, but the council had recommended that he leave it; the murderers and scourge would infiltrate the decent folk if he got rid of their haven. So it remained, and most folk would think twice about chasing a stranger into it. Mune however, had a one-track mind.

She squinted as the icy wind blew off of the mountain and bit her cheeks, and tried to keep focus on the man as he hopped around merchant stalls and dodged people gathered in the streets to talk. Mune kept focused on the flapping end of his cape, bowling into the people he'd dodged and earning shouts of anger from them. One man grabbed her as she bumped into him, and Mune swiftly turned around and punched him as hard as she could in his nose as he tried to grope her. The man stumbled backwards and fell into a stack of lumber, earning hoots and laughter from his friends. She cursed to herself as those few seconds she took to punch the man had cost her, and the cloaked man had disappeared from her sight.

Finally she reached the end of the city, and found herself facing the rock wall. Lumber and building supplies were stacked precariously at the side of the last house, as if they were planning to add more to the city even though there was no where else to build. Her breath crystallized in clouds in front of her as she panted, and she growled in frustration and kicked a mound of snow as she realized he was completely gone.

"Move it over here, carefully." She heard a man say. Mune spun on heel to face it, and found herself looking at a strange podium. A tent sat next to it, of which boxes and crates were being moved into. Her eyes widened and lips parted as she saw, for the first time in her entire life, tall, fair-skinned beings moving amongst the humans moving their crates. There were seven of them, and on each of their backs sat one single, snow-white wing on their left side. They wore armor to the likes of which she'd never seen, and some bore swords that seemed more like thin needles or large rectangular boxes rather than weapons. A woman with hair the color of smoked amber paused as she walked with the men, and turned to look at Mune as she stared at them with a jaw agape. Mune withdrew slightly as the woman smiled in an almost sinister manner in response, and then moved on into the tent. Who were these strange creatures? Why didn't anyone seemed shocked by them? And why was there suddenly a podium at the end of the worst part of Schuttgart, surrounded by pillars, which glowed with red veins like the architecture of the Giants?

"You know, among my people, when you chase a man like that it means you wish to mate with them." A lighter voice came. Mune turned quickly to find the cloaked man that she'd been pursuing sitting casually on large stacked crates against the last house. He had his arms folded behind his head and his legs stretched out in front of him, as if he'd been there the entire time. Mune's lips parted as he jumped off of the crate, and walked towards her slowly. He was tall, much taller than Evzen, perhaps as tall as an Orc she realized as he neared. It intimidated her, as well as the crystalline red eyes that bore into hers.

"Who are you?" Mune breathed, her eyes large as he came to stop in front of her. The top of her head came up to his collarbone at best, and she had to crane her neck to look into his face. The man gazed down at her with a look that made even her heart thud, a look of such tenderness that it made her want to weep. He lifted a hand and caressed her cheek boldly, an action which Mune surprised herself by allowing. He paused mid-stroke, and instead cupped her cheek and drew his head down to hers. Mune sucked in a surprised breath of air as the red-eyed stranger suddenly warmed the air between them by giving her a kiss by the likes of which she'd never had before. She shocked herself by not only returning it, but finding she wanted nothing more than to fall into this man's embrace.


	14. Chapter 13

_Dark Elven Village-nearly 30 years ago._

Evzen's life began not in the snowy north of Schuttgart, but where many other Dark Elves began their lives: in the Village of their races' origin. His life there was sub par, as his mother had died when he was only two years old, leaving only he and his father. His father had become the groundskeeper for the Xael family, one of the only half-nobility left to the Dark Elven Village. Evzen found himself cared for on and off by the Lady of the house, when she wasn't traipsing the land or spending her time with her lovers. Evzen's life began in a world where the children were regarded as 'accidents' by most, where love was considered a taboo, and where the darkness seemed never-ending.

He'd never wanted the darkness; he'd always been fascinated with how the light would play off of water, or through prisms. Darkness couldn't give the brilliant colors that the light did, and nothing in the darkness could give him the pure color of sunlight, a color that he found he treasured.

The day Evzen turned five; he was left to the Temple of Shilen as his father accompanied a group making a supply run to Gludio. The war against Gracia had begun, making it a dangerous time for all. There he began learning magic under the tutelage of the Magisters, even though he was not formally enrolled in classes. He was an obedient student, but many of the Celebrants would mock him as he couldn't even summon a proper wind spell at first. Still he tried, as Evzen wanted nothing more than to be praised by those he looked up to.

When the supply group that Evzen's father had gone with didn't return at the time they were supposed to, the Village Elders declared them dead. A long, drawn-out argument arose after the Elders' declaration, as Evzen and several other children were left with no one to care for them. Having taken a liking to the eager boy, a younger Vuylay brought Evzen home with her, and declared to the Magister Harne, her surrogate mother, that Evzen was her new pet. (This was all in jest of course, but her declaration traumatized Evzen for weeks following it.)

Evzen stayed with Magister Harne, Master Harant and Vuylay for nearly two months, until three of the eight people that had gone on the supply run, returned. They all were malnourished, and looked to be only half alive by how their eyes were glazed over. Evzen's father was among them, and Vuylay was forced to return Evzen to him. Evzen was sad to have to leave the warmth of Vuylay's home, but also happy, as, in his childlike innocence, he loved his father more than anyone else in the world.

Life became hard for Evzen following that, as his father rarely acknowledged his presence or even spoke. Evzen had to learn how to care for the both of them, or they would've both perished. The young boy tried hard to get his father to praise him, but it seemed like his father's soul had been sucked away. Every day following his return he would take walks to the Garden of Shilen and gaze over the ocean with a look of longing. When he spoke, it would be of angelic beings that he yearned to see again. Evzen began to loathe the fantasy beings his father would dream about, as it seemed there was nothing that could match the perfection of them in his eyes.

The day arrived when his father, frustrated with his life in the Village, finally snapped and began to take it out on him. He became erratic, and would beat Evzen, shouting at him and crying, and asking him why he wasn't born with the beautiful wing that the creatures he'd seen had. He mourned the fact that Evzen had no talent in battle, saying that the boy would never be as great as the creatures that he'd become infatuated with. More hate began to churn inside of the boy's body, but he accepted the punishment without fight. Perhaps something was wrong with him, he began to think. Only if he could grow the wing his father wanted to see so badly…then perhaps his father would smile for him again and return to how life was before.

War soon touched the Village itself, and the Elders cried for every man, woman and child, even the elderly, to take up arms and defend their home from the Gracian invaders. They attacked from the sea, cannons chipping away at the Cliffside Garden of Shilen, and damaging their temple. Evzen fled from much of the fight, too inexperienced to even lift the squire's sword that the fighting apprentices would wield. Instead he kept to his father's side, and tried to hide the both of them well, as his father wasn't even coherent enough to fight.

Evzen's father pushed away from him as he tried to lead him towards the Xael house where he had hoped to take refuge. The man's final words to Evzen were filled with so much hostility, so much spite, that it hurt him even now to remember it. Before his father wandered towards the Cliffside with his arms outstretched to greet the Gracian warships and his laughter ringing off the cliff walls, he said "You're fit only to die."

One Gracian battleship fired as his father approached the cliff end, and before Evzen's eyes, his father was hit with a cannonball. The sight of gore and splattered remains burned itself into his brain, and he could barely remember screaming then. He screamed and screamed, covering his ears with his hands as the boom from the cannonball seemed to echo in them forever.

He barely remembered someone racing from somewhere, hearing his screaming, and holding him protectively as they realized what he'd seen. He thought that it was Vuylay by the womanly scent that filled his nostrils, but his mind would no longer register anything. He thought she murmured to him a spell that he would later learn as a sleeping spell, and felt as if he were being carried. Everything sunk into the void of sleep after that, and only returned long enough for him to realize that he was no longer being carried by the woman, but a thin-framed Dark Elven man with crimson red hair, whom looked down at him in an almost pitying expression.

_If only daddy hadn't seen the winged people…if only I could've been better than them…_ Evzen remembered thinking as he faded back into the void of unconsciousness. _If only they didn't exist…_

When he woke again he was in a rich-looking room decorated primarily with the color blue. He lay at the center of a large canopy bed that was surrounded by heavy privacy curtains that had been pulled back and secured to the bed posts. There was a gasp from next to the bed, and Evzen turned towards it.

"Oh goodness, you're awake!" a plump Dwarven woman wearing a traditional long-sleeved maid's uniform exclaimed. She jumped out of the chair that had been positioned next to the bed, and dashed out of his room as fast as she could go, shouting an indecipherable name in the hallway. Evzen rubbed his eyes and surveyed the room he'd found himself in, his eyes going as large as they could as he gazed over the biggest collection of toys that he'd ever seen. He scooted out of bed as fast as he could, and as his feet hit the chilly wooden floorboards below the bed, he looked down to realize he was dressed in a long, flannel sleeping gown that was usually worn by nobility. Dismissing this as quickly as he realized it, Evzen dashed across the room and plopped down in front of a set of wooden horses eagerly.

"I see you've found your gifts." A jolly voice came. Evzen jumped to his feet and spun quickly, frightened by it. A Dwarven man and woman stood in the doorway of the bedroom, and smiled at him warmly. "Go on, you can play with them." The man stated with a chuckle, pulling a pipe from the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Where am I?" Evzen asked, not taking his eyes off of the Dwarven pair. He'd never seen Dwarves before, even though he knew what they were from his schooling. The woman clucked her tongue in a chiding manner, and crossed the room to him. She was richly dressed, and her many layered skirt rustled as she moved. Before he could jerk away from her, she embraced him lovingly, and pressed his face towards her chest.

"There there, poor dear. You're safe with us now." She cooed, cuddling him close.

"That's right son, you're a Greyhelm now." Tacitus Greyhelm stated proudly, approaching his wife and Evzen, and placing a comforting hand on he boy's shoulder. "Welcome to your new home; Schuttgart Castle."


	15. Chapter 14

_The Present_

The next day, Evzen left the council room as the clock in his office announced noon, weary and exhausted. He'd been debating with the council since early that morning, trying to establish his will as Lord, and not as the puppet ruler he'd been. He had allowed the council to form on request of a group of men that seemed to already over see much of the happenings in the city, thinking that it would be good to have several people with different opinions working together to make the best decisions for the city. This was the first time since he'd come to power that they'd disagreed, and he found them increasingly stubborn as they realized he was no longer the agreeable Lord they'd thought they had been controlling.

The issue of the Teristen family had been the hot topic of debate all morning, and Evzen felt that they'd reached an agreeable landmark. Mune could remain in the city to re-submit an appeal to release Calisan, as long as she remained on her best behavior. Esham had been speaking privately with many of the councilmen since the day before, and many of them were firmly convinced that every Teristen held the capability to become the next Destroyer.

It would take many months to get things back to how they had been, and Evzen quietly prayed that he wouldn't have to resort to abusing his power. Abuse of power led to revolt, which led to clans forming to lay siege to his castle. Without a true clan of his own, Evzen knew that he and his family at the very least would loose their castle, at the very worst, their lives. That bit of realization is what prompted him to find compromise with every group that came forward, even if it meant he had to be walked upon.

"Evzen." Linit said as Evzen moved towards his desk. He paused to look at her, seeing her seated in the receiving chair on the other side of his desk. Seeing her suddenly emotionally exhausted him even more than before, and he sunk slowly into his chair. Linit's expression fell as he gave no indication of being happy to see her, and she sunk into herself.

"Did you need something? I do enjoy your company but I'm really quite busy right now." Evzen said wearily, leaning his forehead on his hand. Linit shifted in her chair, and then looked up at him hopefully.

"You normally talk with me about your issues, maybe that'll help your stress now." She offered, ignoring his polite dismissal. Evzen sighed and sat back in his chair, trying to will away the headache that was slowly coming on him.

"I'm afraid discussing these issues with you won't help at all this time, Linit. I appreciate your concern, but this requires getting rid of a certain someone on the council to even begin making the unrest go away." He said in a heavy tone, shutting his eyes as he rested his head against the back of his chair. "On top of it all, now I must hold a masque ball for all of the Elmorean nobles in celebration of reopening the mines in the Plunderous Plains…" he mumbled, wincing as his head throbbed unhappily. Linit blinked at him twice with large eyes, and tilted her head at him curiously.

"Why don't you ask Sir Esham? He was the former Castle Lord wasn't he? He might be able to give you advice on how to handle this." Linit stated brightly. Evzen's head flew up from where it was relaxed, and he looked at her in horror.

"How did you know he was on the council?" Evzen asked, looking at her with large eyes. As far as he knew she wasn't aware of who was on the Schuttgart council, as it was purposefully kept a secret so that the city folk wouldn't approach the councilmen and attempt to bribe them for favors. Linit blushed with his question, and looked away from him uncomfortably. Evzen sat up in his chair, and stared at her intensely. "Linit, how did you know Esham was on the council?"

"I…kind…of signed the paper to allow him on the council." Linit mumbled, ducking her head down.

"You did WHAT?" Evzen roared, standing at once. "Linit, how could you do such a thing without telling me?" he demanded, slamming his hands down on his desk. The cup holding pencils and fountain pens rattled with the movement, and several trinkets rolled off and onto the floor.

"I thought that it would help you!" she exclaimed, looking up at him pleadingly. "Some of the councilmen told me that you'd sought Sir Esham's advice once before, and it would benefit you greatly to have him on the council!" she exclaimed desperately, clutching the arms of the chair. Evzen groaned loudly and turned away from her, frustrated that he couldn't see the treachery amongst his councilmen. He knew some of them had been fiercely loyal to Esham…why didn't he keep a better eye on them?

"Linit, do you have any idea what you've allowed?" Evzen asked evenly, sliding his hands off of his face to look at her. "Didn't you even think once that it was strange that they would come to you to forge my signature instead of going to me?" Linit bit her lower lip and looked away from him, her eyes sparkling with tears. Evzen was so dissatisfied with her at this time; he surprised himself by feeling nothing when the tears fell down her face. He sighed and leaned heavily upon the edge of his desk.

"I can't do this anymore Linit…you have to leave. This is too much for me to handle right now." Evzen said weakly, his heart heavy with many emotions. Linit's hands flew to her mouth and she looked at him with large eyes. Fresh tears sprang from them, and she sniffled loudly.

"No, don't say it!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her chair to hug him tightly. "Don't say it! I'll be better, I'll stay out of your business, I promise!" she sobbed, and pressed her face against his back. Evzen steeled himself against the feel of her sobbing mournfully against his back, but didn't move to hug her. "I'll even tell you the names of the men who came to me, just please don't make me leave!" she cried.

Evzen reached up slowly and took one of the hands that clutched the front of his tunic. Linit released him enough for him to turn, and looked into his face hopefully. She hiccupped once and shut her eyes as Evzen wiped tears from where they'd collected at her chin, and sniffled. Her hopeful expression dissolved as he looked at her seriously, and he finally hugged her as she began to cry anew.

"I'm sorry Linit, but it's more than just this mistake that's forcing me to make this decision." He said in a soft voice, stroking her hair. Linit turned her head so that her cheek rested upon Evzen's chest, and stared out into the room over his arm.

"It's her, isn't it?" she asked sullenly. She squinted her eyes closed, as Evzen didn't respond to her, recognizing the faltering he fell into when searching for a response that would hurt her the least. Linit pulled away from him enough to gaze into his face and search it, trying to search out a place for herself in his heart. She slowly rose up onto her toes, and brought her face close to his.

"Linit…" Evzen warned, drawing away from her slightly as she tried to kiss him. Linit backed away from him as rejection stung her, and stared straight into his eyes.

"I promise, when I leave this room I'll do as you ask. But before then…please…can I just…pretend things are as they were before?" she asked in a small voice, giving him a pleading expression. Evzen searched her eyes as well, and knew what she was trying to do. Hoping it would give the girl some closure; he shut his eyes and nodded slightly. Smiling, Linit rose on her toes again, and kissed him in the way she knew he liked best. He may have told her that she had lost to Mune, but Linit was never one to give up easily.

Later that morning, the Dark Elf companion of the cloaked man exited the room he'd rented in the shabby in humming lightly to himself. He'd had a good night's sleep and a hot bath, and he felt as if he could start his tiring journey with new enthusiasm. This man's name was Ahlmer, a Shilen Knight of considerable strength, and he'd been searching the continent of Aden and Elmore for over five years, searching for someone lost to him. His companion was of a race called Kamael, a race that, until recent years, had been locked away on an island off the cost of Gludin territory.

Ahlmer had an extensive history with the Kamael; having landed on their island after a storm hit the ferry he was taking from Rune to Gludin. It knocked the entire ship off course, landing Ahlmer and several survivors through the dimensional seal protecting the Kamael and onto the Isle of Souls; their home. The Kamael were a powerful race, whom practiced in military procedure from day one. It was unknown to even them which god created them, or why they'd been locked away on the island, but Ahlmer had his suspicions just by judging the architecture in their city.

"Hey man, you awake? Let's make our plans!" Ahlmer called as he rapped on the door of his companion's room. His companion opened the door quickly a second later, cold annoyance clearly expressed on his face. He wore only woolen long johns, its color a blue that was only a few shades darker than his hair. His single wing on the left side of his shoulders, its feathers a little more ragged than most Kamael due to the lifestyle he'd had before leaving the Isle of Souls, was folded like a bird's against his body. "Oh good, you are awake, we should…" Ahlmer's voice trailed off as he looked over his companion's shoulder to see Mune kneeling on his companion's bed in only a thin nightshirt, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh damn it Teles, you know we don't have time for that kind of leisure!" Ahlmer groaned, covering his face. Mune froze mid eye rub and looked at Ahlmer with large eyes.

"Sorry." Teles, his full name Telesphoros, stated without emotion. He let the door swing shut without any word of departure, leaving Ahlmer groaning on the other side. Telesphoros moved to the wall, where a table holding a washbasin sat underneath a mirror. A white pitcher of water sat next to the basin, which he poured into it. Mune tilted her head curiously as he dipped his hands into the water to splash it on his face, and then lean his hands heavily on the basin as if exhausted.

"He got the wrong idea, didn't he?" Mune asked, sitting on her knees. Telesphoros glanced over his shoulder at her, and then back to the basin as if embarrassed. "Are you feeling better now?" she asked, pulling her legs from underneath her and swinging them over the side of the bed.

"Yes, thank you. I apologize for my embarrassing behavior." He said in an emotionless, professional voice. Mune snorted lightly through her nose and stood, and stretched her arms over her head. Normally, she knew, one's reaction at waking up in a stranger's room, next to a stranger in their bed, would be cause for embarrassment. Oddly for her, she felt well-rested, and not in the slightest embarrassed. Telesphoros however, seemed as if he were feeling awkward.

"We all have our moments." She stated, her voice slurring slightly as she yawned. Her eyes snapped open as she felt Telesphoros move from the basin to stand in front of her. He ran his hands up her sides as her arms were over her head, from her hips to her shoulders, where he slid them around to cup her face again. He kissed her as he'd kissed her the night before, and Mune shut her eyes in acceptance. She didn't know what it was about him, but it felt so comfortable to be this familiar with this man. He pulled away from her with a wry smile, and pushed her down roughly onto the bed. Mune fell onto her back with a matching smile, and Telesphoros lowered himself onto the bed next to her to continue kissing her there.

Although their actions would tell someone of a night filled with otherwise, Telesphoros and Mune had not done anything to one another. His action of caressing her as she stretched was the first bold move he'd made on her other than the kissing. It felt to Mune that he was finding comfort in her that was not sexual in nature, and she surprised herself by doing the same. Even as they were on the bed right then would lead most pairs into lovemaking, but neither Telesphoros nor Mune felt the desire to turn to that.

The previous night, Telesphoros had led Mune back to his room in the inn, where Mune was almost certain he was going to bed her. As they stood in the middle of his room kissing in the dim lamplight given off by the oil lamp next to the washbasin, Telesphoros suddenly became stricken with grief. He broke the kiss they'd been sharing to sob, and clung to Mune tightly as tears overcame him. Mune was stunned: here was this muscular, tall man, whose name she hadn't even learned yet, crying on her.

He'd requested, as he calmed briefly from his tears, that Mune stay by his side for the night. He merely wanted her companionship, a kind of security similar to what a child would receive from a toy. Mune found his request odd, but at the same time hadn't wanted to leave his side either. She too, wished to cling to him and cry, as if he were someone she'd been yearning to see for many years. Thus they ended up in the same bed together, Mune snuggling close to his side while his wing curled around her, covering her like a downy blanket. She'd sworn that sometime during the night he'd murmured "my Mune" in a fatherly way, but she couldn't remember clearly.

Telesphoros left the room as Mune dressed, murmuring that he should find his friend and clear up the misunderstanding. Mune skepticized if the man, being a Dark Elf, would even believe Telesphoros if he told him nothing happened between them. After reassembling her armor to her body, Mune left the inn, and made her way back towards Haibane's clan hall.

There was a great commotion in the town square as she ascended the staircase into the richer district, drawing Mune's attention towards the church. A massive amount of belongings and furniture sat around Bilia, who was protesting shrilly about having to gate port such a large amount. A wormy looking man with gray hair and spectacles was in the process of drawing a magic circle at the center of the square, where all of the items currently blocking the steps into Schuttgart's church would be placed for mass transportation.

"What's going on?" Mune asked loudly, hoping someone would answer her.

"I'm leaving." Linit's voice answered. Mune spun around at the sound of it, her eyes large. Linit stood at the top of the stairs behind her, dressed in brown traveling clothes befitting nobility. Over one arm was a carpet-covered bag, bulging and heavy with whatever was packed inside.

"Leaving?" Mune echoed as Linit took a few steps towards her. Linit smiled, surprising Mune by its warmth, and nodded.

"Yes…it seems that I've lost." She stated, shutting her eyes with her smile. Mune frowned slightly, confused by her words. Linit opened her eyes and looked down, her face taking on an almost dark expression. "But that's ok…I can leave satisfied now that Evzen has left his mark within me." She said in a darker voice, caressing her womb. Mune's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, and Linit moved past her.

"What do you mean by that?" Mune asked, turning back towards the church as Linit began to ascend the stairs towards Bilia. Linit paused, and turned to smile sweetly at Mune over her shoulder.

"What does it sound like, Mune dear?" she asked in a scathing voice. Mune's fists clenched at her side as Linit smirked at her, and she struggled with keeping her temper leashed. Mune opened her mouth as an acidic retort came to mind, but she shut it again as she felt a hand upon her shoulder.

"She's a spiteful child; it's not worth the trouble to respond to her." Telesphoros stated in his low voice as she turned to look at him. Mune's expression softened and she turned back to look at Linit as she spoke with Bilia. "Come; let us go do something fun." Telesphoros stated after watching the teen with Mune for a moment. Mune glanced at him curiously, and he motioned for her to follow him back into the poor district.

That evening, Evzen left the warm confines of his castle to venture to the city again. He usually traveled on foot as any other person would, under disguise of cloak and merchant clothing. If people actually thought he was a simple commoner or actually knew it was him and just pretended indifference, Evzen could never tell, as he was treated as any other person would be. Evzen preferred traveling in disguise over coming in with trumpets blaring and people bowing. Although raised in nobility's house for a vast majority of his life, Evzen never felt very much like a noble.

His purpose for traveling to the city that evening was to find Mune. He wished to notify her of the change of verdict on her from the council, and officially invite her to the celebration ball to be held three days from then. Although he still felt guilt over sending Linit home, his heart pounded in anticipation over the prospect of seeing Mune in a ball gown and asking her to dance. _Such a confusing thing, the heart,_ he thought as he walked at a brisk pace. _I still mourn for what happened with Linit, but yet my heart is full of the past…._

Evzen nodded courteously to the guards outside of the city as he passed them, and they cast glances at one another. One thing Evzen never realized was that anyone passing into Schuttgart from the outside had to present a passport; his guards recognized him even when he tried his best to disguise himself.

Halfway up the stairs Evzen paused as he caught sight of movement in his peripheral vision. He turned towards it, holding back the side of his cloak hood as he glanced. To the side of the stairs, in a patch of snowy land, were Mune and Telesphoros. He was leading her in a sword form that Evzen had never seen before, which Mune mimicked with the fiercest determination. Telesphoros stood back to observe her footwork with a thoughtful hand on his chin. As she attempted to spin on the ball of her foot to face the other direction, he stuck a foot out and tripped her, causing her to stumble over his leg and fall into a mound of snow with a yelp. The warm feeling that had been flowing through Evzen all day suddenly went cold as Mune merely laughed at the state she was in, and take Telesphoros' hand with a smile he'd never seen on her face before. His heart went numb as Telesphoros' wing stretched out from where it was hidden beneath his cloak as he pulled Mune up. His feet went into action as Mune stumbled slightly and fell onto Telesphoros' chest, and she gazed up at him.

"Mune!" Evzen exclaimed as he hurried back down the stairs towards her. A sick feeling developed in his gut as her expression went slack as she saw him. He suddenly felt as if she were angry with him, although it fathomed him as to know what he could've done this time.

"What." She stated more than asked, turning around and placing her hands on her hips. Evzen slowed his pace of walk as he neared them, and cleared his throat.

"I was wondering where you were." He attempted cheerfully, adjusting his tunic. Mune rolled her eyes, and sheathed her swords.

"Well, you found me, unfortunately. What do you want?" she stated, folding her arms across her chest. Telesphoros frowned slightly as he glanced down at her. He wondered if she could hear how jealous her tone of voice sounded… Evzen swallowed, his eyes flickering to Telesphoros briefly and then back to Mune. A stone formed in his chest when he looked at the Kamael man, and he tried his best to pretend that he wasn't there.

"I have good news, the council has agreed to dissolve the order for you to leave the city…and you can submit another plea for Calisan within the week." Evzen attempted to say in a good-natured tone. He forced a smile upon his face, even though he really felt like glaring at Telesphoros.

"I don't understand, you are the castle lord, are you not? Why don't you just release him yourself?" Telesphoros questioned, staring evenly at Evzen.

"I also had another request to make of you, if you would be so kind…" Evzen began, ignoring Telesphoros' question. Mune held up a hand to silence him, and thrust her chin out in an indignant manner.

"Sure I'll listen to your request, if you kindly explain why you just blatantly ignored Telesphoros." Mune stated icily, glaring up at Evzen. He let his good-natured air melt, and dissolved into a jealous frown.

"Only if you explain to me what you're doing acting all lovey with one of _them_." Evzen retorted, clearly referring to Telesphoros' race. Mune's eyes widened and her brow furrowed at his tone of voice and open prejudice. Telesphoros shifted to slightly stand behind Mune, and leaned down to nuzzle her ear. Evzen's face turned a dark shade of crimson at the act. His hands balled into fists as Telesphoros glanced up at Evzen as he brushed his lips along the outer edge of Mune's ear.

"Don't bother with it Mune, some people must come into their own understanding at their own pace." He murmured, shutting his eyes as he spoke. His body language made the wise words seem more like a lover's caress, and Evzen's eyes nearly bulged out of his head at the inclination. Curiously, Evzen noted somewhere at the back of his mind, Mune didn't react to it as a normal woman would, and continued to glare at Evzen evenly.

"You're right; he's not worth my anger." Mune stated spitefully, dismissing Evzen by looking away from him. "Especially men whom bed children." She spun on her heel with that, and marched towards the next set of stairs leading to the central part of the city.

"I didn't sleep with her!" Evzen protested shrilly.

"That's not what Linit said." Mune responded airily, her voice fading as she walked away from him. Evzen shut his eyes with her words, and sighed heavily.

"Linit." He grumbled, turning back towards his castle. "When will you learn to keep things to yourself?" Linit had never shown anything remotely close to a spiteful temper while she was with him, but he wasn't surprised that she tried to leave the town with words that would make herself feel better. What he was more upset about however was the appearance of Telesphoros. Was history going to repeat itself? Was he going to loose another person he cared dearly for to those strange winged abominations?

Mune entered the room she'd been given in the clan hall, wearing a fluffy white bathrobe and toweling her hair dry after her bath in the hall's community bath house. She froze as she entered her room, as a paper-wrapped bulge now hung on her wall, a white card addressed to her attached to it. Mune let the towel she held drop from her hands as she crossed the room to the bulge, and took the card from the paper. Flipping it over, she found the card to be a formal invitation to a ball being held in honor of the reopening of the Plunderous Plains mines. Her brow furrowed, Mune let the invitation drop to the bed, and reached up to pull the paper off of the bulge.

Downstairs in the area that acted as a meeting room, a socializing center and a dining room, a Necromancer belonging to Haibane by name of Valenzz and his companion, a Dark Elf named Bisclaveret jumped and looked towards the stairs as a shrill scream of horror sounded from Mune's room. A moment later she came stampeding down it, still dressed in her bathrobe, with a mound of fabric flung over one arm.

"Who did this? Who?" she demanded, grabbing Bisclaveret by the collar of his light armor. He jerked himself from her reach as quickly as she grabbed him, and adjusted his armor.

"Do what?" he asked, glaring at her. Mune thrust the mound of fabric towards him, her arm shaking.

"This! Who put this in my room?" she asked, her voice hysterical. Bisclaveret glanced over the mound, and back up at her.

"It's a ball gown." He said flatly, as if disappointed that it wasn't something more horrific.

"Yes, it's a ball gown. Who put it in my room?" Mune demanded again, shaking the dress like it was some disgusting thing.

"Hell if I know, I just got back." Bisclaveret stated, turning back towards the stew pot that he and Valenzz were warming themselves by. Mune growled in her throat and cast an accusing glare on Valenzz, who lifted an eyebrow.

"The Lord's manservant, some guy whose name sounded like Crystal dropped it off while you were in the bath." A Dark Avenger with ebony skin and long, thick dreadlocks, friend to Bisclaveret and Valenzz by the name of Sparten, stated from the opposite corner of the room. He had summoned his spirit panther, which sat beside him. He wore black armor on top of his already dark skin and hair, and with his black cat out, it gave Mune the impression of a three dimensional shadow. Mune regarded him skeptically for a moment, trying to figure out where he ended and his panther began. "Nice bathrobe." He snickered, his teeth flashing bright white against his skin as he smiled. An embarrassed hue sprang to Mune's face, and she hurried back up the stairs to her room. She entered it quickly and slammed the door, and pressed her back against it as she sighed in relief.

Mune tossed the large ball gown across the decorative chair sitting across from her bed, and then sat heavily upon her bed. She propped her elbows up on her knees, and rested her chin in her hands as she stared hard at the ball gown. Taking a moment away from trying to will the gown into oblivion with just her stare, she reached around behind her body to grab the invitation, and looked it over again.

"Well…it looks official." She mumbled to herself. A strange thud had begun in her heart the longer she stared at the invitation, and her eyes softened as she glanced back up at the dress. A clear imaginary image of Evzen dressed for such an event flashed across her inner eye, and a different kind of blush crept upon her cheeks. _Well…perhaps it wouldn't hurt just this once…_she thought to herself.

"So you didn't do her." Ahlmer repeated to Telesphoros for what seemed like to the Kamael the thousandth time. Telesphoros played with the empty pint that Ahlmer had just drained, as if bored with being in the tavern with the Dark Elf. Putting one finger on the rim of the tankard, he slowly let it spin on it's corner, and left water patterns on top of the wooden table with the water that had collected on the outside of the cup.

"No." he answered for what also felt like the thousandth time. His mind slightly clouded from the mead, Ahlmer squinted into the air above Telesphoros' head.

"But you made out with her." He stated, trying to figure out how Telesphoros' story could be true. It boggled his mind to think that a man took a willing woman into his room, and did nothing more than snuggle next to her as they slept.

"Why are we discussing this?" Telesphoros finally asked, letting the tankard fall back on its bottom. Ahlmer held his hands up and shrugged, trying to convey that he meant no harm.

"Just making sure everything's functioning for you…I know you were asleep for a long time so if something's broken, I wouldn't want you to suffer…" he stated in a light tone, still holding his hands up. Telesphoros sighed in disgust, and looked away from his tipsy friend. Ahlmer held his hand up as a barmaid passed, and pointed to his empty tankard. She nodded once and disappeared behind the bar to get him another. Satisfied, Ahlmer leaned upon the table and clasped his hands together.

"So, shall we make plans to leave tomorrow?" he asked seriously, staring at Telesphoros evenly. He was surprised when an almost panicked expression crossed Telesphoros' face, and tilted his head at it. "You need to stay for some reason?" he questioned, scratching the hair on his chin. The panicked look dissolved into one of confusion, and Telesphoros put a hand on his forehead as he shook his head as if to clear it.

"No…I have nothing keeping me here…" he stated uncertainly, staring at his hand as he lowered it. Ahlmer raised an eyebrow at his reaction and sat back as the barmaid brought him his new tankard of mead. She smiled flirtatiously at Telesphoros as she took the empty glass, and walked away from the table with a strut.

"Well, if that's the reason you want to stay, then I don't blame you. I swear you get women after you in every town…but you never respond to them." Ahlmer stated, pouting slightly. "Are you SURE nothing's broken?" he asked, frowning. He held up his hands in surrender as Telesphoros cast him a glare, and lifted his fresh tankard to drink.

"I need to set things into motion; they're too clueless to do it themselves." Telesphoros stated in a soft voice.

"What?" Ahlmer asked, lowering his mug to glance at Telesphoros curiously. The Kamael met his eyes, his brow furrowing into an equally curious expression.

"I didn't' say anything." He stated with a frown. Still holding the mug to his lips, Ahlmer glanced away from his companion briefly. He knew he wasn't drunk enough to be hearing things.

"Whatever it is you have to do, do it quickly, ok? Even though I do enjoy staying in a warm inn with good food, drink and a warm bed to sleep in, we're wasting time." Ahlmer stated, the buzz from his mead momentarily forgotten. Telesphoros glanced down at his hands briefly, and then up to the frost-crusted window they sat beneath. Why was it so important to him that he remain? What was it that he felt like he was trying to accomplish?


	16. Chapter 15

The night of the ball arrived, and guests from all over the continent made their way towards the castle. Carriages had been ordered for those attending, so that they could travel in ease and warmth from the town to the castle. Nobles from every major city and town, including Heine, arrived for the inaugural event. Everyone was decked out in their finest, as nobility is always eager for a party.

"I hate the cold." Ryonai grumbled as he and Vuylay arrived via the Gatekeeper. He shivered inside of his heavy fur and woolen coat, and wrapped it around himself tighter. Vuylay made a disgusted noise as she stepped into a pile of slush, and lifted her skirt to shake the slop from her shoe.

"Why do we have a clan hall up here again?" she grumbled, tapping the toe of her shoe against the cobbled stone in an attempt to clean it.

"Good business venture." Ryonai stated easily, "Between Heine and here, I can open up vacation resorts." He grinned as Vuylay cast him a scathing look, and she shook her head.

"Lord and Lady Innadril, I didn't expect you two to arrive." Krystof greeted in surprise, bowing curtly to them both. He stood near the Gatekeeper, greeting the nobles as they arrived and leading them to the carriages that would take them to the castle. "Especially after the unfortunate event surrounding young Miss Linit." He took Vuylay's hand and kissed it courteously, and she nodded stiffly in acceptance. Although he'd been the Greyhelm's personal manservant for years, Ryonai and Vuylay found him to be their least favorite person in Schuttgart.

"Linit made her own choices regarding that incident; it was never our intention for her to get into a relationship with Evzen in the first place." Ryonai stated in a cold, business-like tone. As he expected, Krystof's eyes widened to a shocked degree.

"You did not intend for her to marry Lord Evzen and create a political alliance between your two cities?" the manservant asked, his voice choked with shock. Vuylay frowned and glanced at Ryonai, whom glanced at her back.

"Let me guess…you got that idea because she was a single noble and interested in Evzen, right?" Ryonai asked scathingly. The cold was making him increasingly cross, leaving him with little patience to deal with the traditionalist-minded Krystof.

"Hey, is that Mune?" Vuylay asked, tugging on the sleeve of Ryonai's jacket. He turned to glance in the direction she was staring, and nearly reeled backwards in shock. Exiting from Haibane's clan hall was Mune, wearing a large-skirted gown the same color blue as the icy water of the ocean near the castle. The waist of the skirt was wrapped tightly from below her breasts to her hips with filmy black gauze, the same fabric of which covered the skirt in a floating top layer. The neckline was low cut to the top of the waistline, displaying to the world an unexpected bit of cleavage. The blue fabric covering her breasts was rippled like water, and extended up from the waistline in a v-shape to shoulder straps. She swung a cloak across her shoulders as she stood in the doorway of the clan hall, and secured it shut, hiding her surprisingly feminine figure. Her hair, which she normally wore with the upper portion pulled back into a clip or a tie was unbound, and brushed to fall over one side of her face in a short, shining platinum curtain. A bouquet of blue flowers that matched the color of her dress had been clipped to the side of her head that the hair didn't fall over, securing the style.

"Mune?" Ryonai gaped, drawing her attention. Her face went red instantly as she realized she'd been seen. She turned around quickly to re-enter the clan hall, as her courage to attend the ball crumbled.

"Oh no you don't." Vuylay murmured, and charged across the town square. She caught the door as Mune slipped in and attempted to close it, and shoved her foot between the door and door frame to lodge it open. Mune cringed and cowered beneath the dark glare shadowing Vuylay's face, feeling as if her eyes were glowing with a demonic light.

"So Evzen finally got the guts to ask you to the dance, huh?" Ryonai asked Mune later as they rode in a carriage towards the castle. The interior of the carriage was small, and the seats covered in dark burgundy velvet. Frost-covered windows sat next to the seats on both sides, giving them dim light for their ride. Ryonai and Vuylay sat on one side of the carriage, Mune on the other.

Vuylay smacked the back of her hand into his chest as his eyes drifted downward towards her dress's neckline. He never once in his life thought to consider that Mune actually had a chest. Her sisters were both lithe and small everywhere; Mune was surprisingly well-developed.

"Aren't you mad at me about Linit?" Mune asked, pulling her cloak tighter around her. Ryonai blinked hard and lifted his head swiftly, trying to recall what Mune had just asked.

"She hasn't spoken of anything that happened up here since she returned." Vuylay stated while glaring at her husband. "We didn't even know she was in a relationship with Evzen until Krystof sent us a letter of apology along with the invitation." She sighed and shook her head. "I really hate that guy, the only thing on his mind is political gain, and he's not even the castle lord." She grumbled.

"So why are you in Schuttgart?" Ryonai asked, his ears red as he realized Mune was glaring at him for staring at her chest. Mune shifted in her seat uneasily, and glanced out the window next to her. She began with just telling them of her reason for coming to Schuttgart, but ended up launching into the story detailing all of the events happening until then. When she finished, Ryonai sat across from her with his elbows on his knees, and his face in his hands. He sighed heavily as he wiped his hands down his face to rest over his mouth and nose.

"And WHY didn't you guys contact me first?" he asked, irritated. Recognizing the start of his temper, Vuylay reached out and put a gloved hand on his shoulder. He shrugged lightly at it, acknowledging it but letting her know it wasn't necessary.

"I don't know, Terebel's the one who told me to come out here." She stated, shrugging dismissively. Ryonai glanced at Vuylay, and then sighed heavily again.

"He's still mad about that." Vuylay murmured as Ryonai sat back in his seat. Mune's attention was returned to them in an instant, and she looked at them curiously. "Ashland and Ren got in a fight with Roan the last time they visited Heine…" Vuylay began uneasily, shifting in her seat. "Mr. Stubborn there decided to side with our boys and blame Roan when some castle heirlooms were broken, even though it was obviously the dynamic duo that was at fault. In short, the Chamberlain tried to take things into his own hands and charged Terebel with the cost of the heirlooms." She said in a hard voice, glaring sidelong at Ryonai.

"I already told him that I'd fixed that, and he doesn't have to pay." Ryonai stated helplessly, lifting his hands slightly in defeat.

"That doesn't matter; you need to apologize to him." Vuylay scolded, adjusting her gloves. While Ryonai wore a standard shining black suit that seemed to be the standard for Noblemen to wear to events when they did not follow the latest fashion trends, Vuylay was dressed elegantly. She wore a snow white gown which the skirt of which filled the entirety of the carriage interior. The skirt was ruffled and gathered so that it billowed and fluffed like a cloud. Filmy white gauzy material similar to the black of Mune's skirt, extended from the bodice of the dress and wrapped around the skirt. It draped like a curtain on the right side, and was secured in the style by a filmy white fabric rose. The bodice of her dress was a strapless corset that extended far over her hips. Stringy feathers decorated the corset in lines, making her look like something that had fallen out of the sky. Mune wondered if the dress was designed around her wings (which she'd yet to see). White opera gloves covered her arms, and she wore a white-silver charm bracelet on one wrist. Her hair, like Mune's, was also unbound, and fell over one shoulder. The white of her dress made the pale pink locks now streaked through her violet hue sparkle and shine. She was beautiful, and Mune finally was able to identify the looks that Ryonai would cast her occasionally as loving pride, despite their bickering.

"I'll take care of Calisan as soon as I can get a hold of Evzen at this ball." Ryonai stated, sitting up straight again. "It's stupid that he should let a council waffle around him like that. If they're so afraid of political unrest by letting a so-called dangerous drunk out of the dungeon, then I can give them something to be scared of. They're keeping one of my clansmen in the dungeons without notifying me, that's cause enough for me to be angry." He said with a wicked grin. Mune blinked once at him and tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Calisan never joined Haibane though, did he?" she asked, staring at the ceiling of the carriage.

"He's in Haibane now." Ryonai answered, his grin growing more mischievous.

"Ooh, I love it when you abuse your power." Vuylay said playfully, snuggling close to his side. Ryonai stretched out as best he could in the small carriage, and folded his arms behind his head.

"Yep, yep. You snagged yourself a good one." He stated, leaning back so Vuylay could lean against him. Mune made a disgusted noise as they began to snuggle in front of her, and turned her attention to staring out the window next to her.

They arrived at the castle soon after their conversation ended, and were helped from the carriage by menservants dressed in prim burgundy suits that reminded Mune of the coach interior. The carriage had dropped them off right at the castle gates, and a red carpet had been unrolled so that Evzen's guests wouldn't have to walk upon snowy ground as they entered the castle. Mune's eyes widened as she slowly gazed upwards towards the top of the castle, every bit of the grounds lit with magic orbs strung on garlands of summer flowers no longer blooming. The courtyard had been swept free of snow, and had been redecorated into a garden of ice sculptures that couples already strolled through.

"A masque for the ball." An elegantly dressed maid stated, pulling a half-face masque from a large basket in her arms and handing it to Mune. Mune's brows twitched together slightly as she accepted the masque, not recalling any hint that the ball would be a masquerade. The masque she'd been given was nearly the same blue as her dress, its shape pointed along the hairline like a crown. Darker blue sequins decorated the edges, and around the eye holes, and a rhinestone flower made of blue gems with green leaves sat in the middle of the masque's forehead. Mune pursed her lips at it, and then shrugged as she placed it over her face.

Mune entered the castle, and followed a path made by masked servants holding four-pronged candelabras. A strange feeling overcame Mune as she passed each expressionless man and woman, one that left her limbs heavy and her mind sluggish. She stumbled slightly and put a hand to her forehead, trying to clear it.

"Wow, they're making heavy with the aphrodisiac." Mune heard Ryonai state from behind her, his voice wavering as he fanned in front of his face. They both held face masques on sticks that had been given to them by the servant at the door, Vuylay's mask was full and white with fluffy pink feathers at the hairline and jewel-lined pink tiger stripes on the cheeks, and Ryonai's a strange iridescent half-face one made of hammered bronze. It lacked decoration, other than curling metal tendrils around the edges.

"Aphrodisiac?" Mune asked, her voice slurring slightly as she glanced over her shoulder at them. She winced as Vuylay thrust a white handkerchief under her nose, and then glanced up at the Shilen Elder. A servant approached them and took their cloaks as they stood in the hall, seemingly oblivious to the drugged air.

"Nobles are hardcore addicts to feel-good aphrodisiacs, and those that hold balls love using them because it makes everyone think they had a good time even if the entertainment is lousy." Vuylay said bitterly, shaking the handkerchief until Mune took it. "Ryonai and I purposefully built up a resistance to it so that we wouldn't get sluggish when business needed to be taken care of. It's despicable that Evzen would authorize such heavy amounts when people who haven't been exposed to it are in attendance." She sighed and shook her head as a plump noblewoman, high on the aphrodisiac, suddenly veered off her trek and latched on to a candelabrum-holding servant. Another servant was there as she pushed the eerily willing man into a darkened corner, and took up the servant's vacated position.

"I can only imagine this is Krystof's doing. He's always pulling crap behind Evzen's back." Ryonai stated bitterly. "Breathe through that until we get into the ballroom, the aphrodisiac should just be in the hallway." He said wisely, and nodded for her to continue walking.

"How come you guys built up a resistance, I'd think you'd love stuff like this." Mune said in a sour voice, glaring at them slightly.

"Pff, it'll be a sad day in the deepest depths of hell the day I need an aphrodisiac to get horny." Ryonai stated easily, blowing off Mune's question. Mune frowned behind the handkerchief; the aura of the ball was beginning to feel less like a celebration for a reopening of a mine, and more like the prelude to some disgusting noble orgy.

After traveling down the nearly dark hallway for another few minutes, Mune finally came to the ballroom. The doors were swung open for her by two more servants, and the brightness of the ballroom nearly blinded her.

As many times as Mune had been in the castle, she'd never once before set foot in the ballroom. Great crystalline chandeliers in the shapes of upside-down umbrellas hung from the ceiling and were filled to the brim with the brightest of light orbs. The room, shaped like a great rectangle, was the color of old ivory, with three grand windows lined with the deepest of blue curtains on the wall opposite of where Mune stood. On either side of the ballroom were balconies, where guests already stood, drinking from fluted glasses and laughing at the jokes they told one another. Exotic plants from all over the world sat in every corner of the room, a strange pink haze seemingly hanging over them.

"Good gods, aphrodisiac in here too?" Ryonai grumbled, holding his masque to his face. "Hold that handkerchief over your face when no one's looking at you Mune, and for gods sake, whatever you do, don't let anyone touch you. I have no idea what Krystof is up to, and I'm definitely bringing up the aphrodisiac thing to Evzen when I get to him."

"Ugh, how tacky is that." Vuylay stated from behind her own masque, ignoring Ryonai. "Look at that woman; she's wearing the exact same dress you are. Nothing tackier than that at a ball." She made a disgusted noise as Mune followed her line of sight. Her eyes twitched slightly and she blinked hard, thinking it was the aphrodisiac she'd inhaled playing tricks on her. There, across the ballroom standing near one of the pink-hazed plants and giggling at the men surrounding her, was an Elf with the exact same dress and masque as herself. If the Elf's hair hadn't been such an off shade of blonde, Mune would've sworn she was looking into a mirror.

The band that had been playing from a stage near the door where Mune entered suddenly played a loud fanfare, drawing everyone's attention to them. Their eyes traveled upwards as movement drew them towards the balcony above the stage as Evzen walked out to greet them. He wore a long, double-breasted coat that fell to his knees the color of the deepest navy, the lapels, cuffs and trim the same color as Mune's dress. His pants were tightly fitted to his legs, and buttoned along his leg from his hips to his ankles. Underneath his coat he wore a white shirt that had two small, black belts fastening it shut. It wasn't as rich as some of the clothing the other nobles wore, but it suited him well. On his face he wore a black eye masque that was trimmed in crystalline dust. Mune put a hand to her chest as she felt her heart flutter at the sight of him, and looked down at the hem of her dress in shock.

"Mm Mm mm…he grew up well." Vuylay murmured appreciatively next to Mune. Ryonai was next to her in an instant, and glared at her through his masque.

"Don't make me openly ogle every woman's chest in front of you." He warned, leaning in close to her. Vuylay lowered her masque as she cast him a sidelong glance, and smiled coyly.

"As if you're not ogling them already." She stated, slipping an arm around his. He shut his mouth quickly and lowered his eyelids at her as she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you all for attending this event on such short notice." Evzen said loudly, his voice carrying through the ballroom. He leaned elegantly upon the marble railing in front of him, as if trying to put himself on the same level as those around him. "The people of Schuttgart appreciate the patronage you've shown us today, and your kind donations through the years as you've helped us reopen the mine that will benefit us all with ore, coal and gold." He paused briefly, and glanced around the ballroom. His eyes landed on Mune, and his mouth dropped open in shock. He moved towards her a step, his heart pounding, but was held back by a white-wig wearing and powdered faced Krystof.

"There will be time for that later." His manservant hissed from behind a heavily beaded and feathered half-masque. Evzen swallowed with difficulty, and attempted to regain his commanding air. His eyes kept darting to Mune as he cleared his throat loudly and attempted to remember his speech. Several people standing beneath the balcony caught sight of his movements, and began searching the crowd to see what had distracted him. Mune ducked lower within herself and tried to scoot towards the wall as Ryonai and Vuylay snickered behind her. Upon the balcony, Evzen frowned as his carefully memorized speech had completely fled him, and resorted to the only thing that could save face now.

"It is with humble gratitude that I invite you all to enjoy tonight, enjoy the drink and dance, and may your hearts be as full as ours." He finished, bowing deeply to the guests. They all clapped politely, and many elder noblemen murmured in approval. Next to him, Krystof sighed heavily as he covered his face with his hand, embarrassed that the lord he served would lower himself to bow towards those whom he saw as lower than Evzen.

As soon as the band began playing, Evzen dashed off the balcony and down the stairs behind it to be on the same level as the ballroom. A trio of noblewomen spotted him as he entered the ballroom, and rushed towards him. He looked past their bouffant wigs and fluttering feather fans as they tried to each talk to him in turn, and finally excused himself as he caught sight of Mune. Each woman huffed in indignation at his rudeness, and in unison, stuck their noses in the air and marched into the crowd of dancers.

"Mune!" Evzen exclaimed, pushing through the crowd to where she stood with Ryonai and Vuylay near the wall. "You came!" he said breathlessly as he reached him. Mune averted her eyes from him the instant he was in front of her, and stared hard at Ryonai's shoes next to her.

"It would've been rude, after this dress was given to me and all…" she mumbled, lacing her fingers together at her waist. Evzen's eyes scanned her from head to toe, and a blush, thankfully hidden by his masque, sprung up on his cheeks. Even in the dress he'd bought for her to wear back in Rune, she'd not looked quite as girly as she did at that moment. It excited him and left him breathless, and he fought the urge to sweep her off her feet right then and there. Logic told him that he didn't know how she'd react to that, and the last thing he wanted was to do something to ignite her temper in front of the entirety of the noble houses of the continent.

"Evzen, glad to see you again!" Ryonai stated good-naturedly, reminding Evzen that there were still other people in the ballroom. Evzen looked up at him in shock, and hesitantly shook the hand that was offered to him. "I haven't seen you since we bought the hall, how have things been? Do you have a moment to talk with me?" Ryonai stated in one breath, smiling politely.

"Subtle much?" Vuylay asked under her breath, holding her masque to her face again. "Hello Evzen." She greeted in a quieter manner, smiling as Evzen smiled at her, and lifted her hand to kiss the back of it.

"I'm glad to see you are both well…of course I have time to…"

"Lord Evzen, you're needed." Krystof interrupted, appearing by Evzen. He nodded curtly at all three Haibane clansmen, and took Evzen by the shoulders. "I'm terribly sorry Lord Innadril, but the Lord of Goddard has put in a bid to speak with Evzen long before you, I'm afraid you'll have to wait." He said smartly, leading Evzen into the crowd.

"Krystof, I'd really like to speak with…" Evzen began, resisting as Krystof led him.

"Lord Evzen, this matter is actually quite urgent. It is in regard to the most recent trade we've made with them." Krystof stated in a low voice, his expression intense behind his masque. Evzen sighed heavily and cast his friends an apologetic smile before allowing himself to be led away.

"He really needs to put on his big boy pants around that guy." Ryonai grumbled, lowering his masque to glare. "Anyway, in the meantime let's make him jealous. Would you like to dance, Mune?" Ryonai asked, putting his masque back over his eyes and smiling down at the elf. Mune looked at him with large eyes as if he'd suddenly sprouted wings from his nostrils, and didn't respond.

"As if her dancing with you would make him jealous." Vuylay retorted, amused. "I want to dance with you first; we haven't been to a party in a long time." She said with a pout, tracing a finger on his shoulder.

"Ok, but loose the masque, it's really freaking me out." Ryonai stated, making a disgusted face at the fluffy feathers adorning the hairline. Vuylay lowered the masque to pout, but tossed it over her shoulder anyway. Grinning widely at her, Ryonai did the same, his masque clanging loudly as it hit the floor. He offered her his arm, and the two disappeared into the crowd as they made their way to the dance floor.

The night wore on at what felt like an achingly slow pace to Mune. She sat in a blue velvet-covered chair against the wall most of the night, politely declining men when they asked her to dance, and ignoring the rest whom had an aphrodisiac-drunken gleam in their eyes. Evzen, nor Ryonai and Vuylay had returned after parting the first time, and Mune found the dance growing increasingly lonely. Other than the men drunk on the sweet-smelling drugs penetrating the air, no one seemed to want to speak to her, and for the first time in her life she felt vulnerable and rejected. _What was the purpose of coming here again?_ She asked herself many times as noblewomen and their escorts swirled past her in a waltz.

"Miss Teristen, may I have a moment?" Krystof's voice came as Mune stared blankly into space. She blinked once as reality returned, and glanced over at him. He gave her a thin-lipped smile and offered her his elbow. "Come with me, would you? I promise, I mean no ill-intent." He stated, bowing slightly. Mune turned her head slightly as she eyed him warily, and then stood and accepted his arm. _Heck, anything's better than sitting around here doing nothing…_she decided, as he led her through the crowd.

Several minutes later, Evzen groaned loudly and collapsed upon a short couch along the wall, and unfastened one of the belts holding the shirt beneath his coat, closed. He lifted his masque to wipe beneath it, and sighed heavily. Glancing up as Krystof suddenly appeared next to him with a mug of cold cider; Evzen gave his manservant a wan smile and accepted it.

"Ah Krystof, I don't think I can handle much more of this mingling. Won't you let me go play, please?" he asked like a child as he took a sip. Krystof smiled as Evzen placed the mug back on the silver tray he'd presented it to him upon, and then placed the tray upon a small serving table next to the couch.

"Actually sir, I've already lined something up for you…I think you'll be quite pleased." Krystof stated in a light voice. "If you'll follow me, this way, sir." He said, bowing slightly and holding his arms out in the direction he wished Evzen to walk. Evzen's mouth dropped open into an 'o' shape, and he looked up at Krystof in interest. Aphrodisiac had intoxicated his mind, but he felt so cheerful and in such a good mood that he didn't think much of it.

"A present? For me?" he asked as Krystof's smile only grew. A boyish grin breaking out on his face, Evzen jumped up from the couch as fast as he could.

"Now, take your time Lord Evzen, you've mingled all that you've needed to for the night." Krystof stated in a quiet voice as he led Evzen down a darkened hall above the ballroom. Krystof stopped in front of a door and opened it slowly, bowing courteously as Evzen entered. He shut it again with a smile, and moved down the hall.

Evzen removed his masque as he entered the room, and looked around. He was in a bedroom usually reserved for visiting princesses, and standing at the windows in front of him was a familiar figure wearing a blue dress. His heart began to pound as she turned around to face him, and a grin that he was certain looked dumb broke out on his face.

"Mune." He murmured, crossing the room without hesitation and taking her into his arms. He reached for her masque first thing, but she pressed it back to her face. He frowned slightly as she pulled away from him slightly, and hugged herself.

"Don't." she commanded in a low voice, and then looked away from him. A lopsided grin formed on his face this time, and he hugged her tightly.

"As you command." He murmured. He stayed like that until he'd had his fill, and then slowly withdrew to look into her eyes. They looked dark in the moonlight streaming in through the window, and it disappointed him slightly. He had been hoping that they'd be crystalline, as the moonlight was the same color as her eyes in daylight. Without hesitating a moment longer, Evzen kissed her deeply, his hands caressing her face as he made obvious his desire for her through his lips.

Although normally a gentleman, Evzen's aphrodisiac-intoxicated brain encouraged him to further his showing of affection to more bold gestures. Finding that Mune wasn't resisting him, Evzen began to kiss down her neck, his hands preceding him and drifting down to her chest. He boldly slipped inside of the v-neck of her dress, and began caressing her breasts. She sighed into the darkened room, and clung to him as he slid his hands up to the straps, which he slid over her shoulders. His heart was full as he crouched before her and began lavishing the breasts he'd yearned to see underneath the cold armor she normally wore, and his mind full of only thoughts of her.

There was a loud clatter, the sound of a curtain being drawn open quickly by its pull, followed by a shocked gasp. Evzen lifted his head quickly to find that the room was divided by a curtain, which closed off a miniature receiving room. Standing in the moonlight on this side of the room was…Mune? Evzen's voice choked in his throat as he looked between the two women, the woman he'd thought was Mune covering herself with her arms.

"Is this what you needed to see me for? To show off your new girlfriend?" she asked, her voice thick. Confused and firmly stuck in disbelief, Evzen reached for the woman he'd been kissing and pulled her masque from her. The face that stared back at him was indeed attractive, but was definitely not Mune.

"What is this? Who are you?" he demanded. The real Mune let out an angry noise that shocked Evzen to hear it sound like a sob.

"You're scum. I hate you!" she cried, ripping her own masque off and throwing it to the floor. She covered her mouth with her hand after that and raced out as Evzen reached for her. Evzen stared helplessly at the door she exited from, and then looked back at the half-dressed woman in front of him.

"Who are you, answer me!" he demanded again, grabbing the woman by her shoulders and shaking her.

"Chostani, I come from Rune." The Elf responded in an accented voice. "Sir Krystof sent a letter to my family stating you wished to make political ties with our city by marrying me. Was this a farce?" she demanded, her pretty face darkened with anger. Evzen growled deep in his throat and turned his back on her. He rushed out of the room after Mune, angry that he'd been duped once again by people he thought he could trust.

"Mune, wait!" he shouted loudly as Mune raced down the stairway at the end of the hall that led back into the ballroom. Several people stopped dancing and looked up at them as Mune hurried down the stairs as fast as she could, tears streaming down her face. "Mune, I thought it was you!" he exclaimed, holding the railing as he traveled down several steps after her. Mune stopped at the bottom step to look up at him, hiccuping once as she tried to regain control over her emotions. Dancing near the staircase, Ryonai and Vuylay paused mid-waltz to gape at the pair.

"Lord Evzen, how could you lure me into a room and rape me!" Chostani cried, coming down the stairs after him. She'd mussed her hair and ripped her dress somehow, which she held to her body.

"Oh boy, shit has hit the fan." Ryonai grimaced as the entire ballroom grew quiet with her cries. Mune turned around as Chostani began shouting and sobbing hysterically in another language, and raced through the ballroom and out the door.

She ran down the hallway that was no longer lit by servants holding candelabras, but simple oil lamps dotting the path every few feet. She raced through the courtyard without finding her cloak, not even noticing that the ice sculptures had been defaced and demolished by drunken guests, their beauty no more. The red carpet had been rolled up as she raced through the castle gates and down the great ramp that would lead her to the ground, and no carriage waited for her at the bottom.

She ran as fast as she could, her breath coming out in loud gasps as she tried to control her crying. Lack of air soon overtook her and she stumbled to her knees, the gauze of her skirt ripping as she tripped upon it trying to stand up again. Giving up, Mune fell back to her knees and covered her face as she curled to the ground to finally let herself cry.

She returned to Schuttgart nearly a half hour later, her arms and legs numb with cold. The guards stationed outside of town cast her curious glances as she wandered past them like a lost child, but said nothing to her. Her hair was rumpled and her dress a mess with snow and dirt, but unless she sought them out for help, they wouldn't even speak to her.

She wandered through town blindly, and up the stairs to the church. Bilia had long since gone to bed, and the rest of the town was fast asleep. As a rule, the church kept its doors opened all night during a ball, so that the visiting guests could see how grand their sanctuary of worship was. Mune entered out of habit, and raised her head hopefully towards the place where she was certain she could find a comforting face.

The corner she gazed towards was empty and devoid of life, and Mune glanced around herself in confusion. Reality slowly returned to her, and fresh tears sprang to her eyes. No…he wouldn't be there. Of course that place would be empty. He would never return to stand there again.

There was a rustle behind her, and Mune spun quickly with a light gasp, pushing her hair from her face as she turned. In the corner opposite of where she had looked stood Ballard's statue, and at its base sat Telesphoros. He looked up at her slowly, his expression becoming worried as his eyes danced over her. Mune sobbed loudly once at the gentleness his eyes held, and flew across the church. She collapsed upon him as she reached the statue, and hugged him tightly around his waist with her head pressed against his chest. He hugged her back, and rocked her slightly as she cried.

"Grandpa…" she mourned, sobbing loudly. Telesphoros opened his eyes slightly with her grief-filled wish, and then shut them again as a saddened expression crossed his face as well.


	17. Chapter 16

The Elven Village; the past.

"Mune!" Ballard exclaimed as he raced into the Temple of Eva. He slid to a stop as a mud and twig covered; short swamp monster looked up at him with a scowl. Behind the creature that he hoped was his granddaughter stood the village Hierarch, scowling at Ballard as he folded his arms across his chest and tapped his foot impatiently. Ballard smiled at the man sheepishly as he approached the mud monster, and kneeled before it.

"Your granddaughter is going to bring shame upon us Ballard, if you don't teach her to be more ladylike!" the Hierarch snapped as Ballard pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve to try an uncover Mune's face with it.  
>"I don't need to be no lady!" a five-year old Mune proclaimed loudly as Ballard wiped her face free of the thick, foul-smelling mud. He wasn't sure where she found such muck in the Elven Forest, but it didn't surprise him that she'd been the one to discover it.<p>

"I'm terribly sorry Hierarch, I'll see to it that she apologizes to the boy." Ballard stated automatically, having spoken the apology so many times that he didn't even have to think to say it now.

"She didn't beat up a boy this time Ballard, oh no." The Hierarch began with a sarcastic laugh, "This time, she claims she was following the ghost of Lady Michie, right into her daughter's wedding! She ruined the occasion for both families!" The Hierarch glared as Ballard stood, and put his hands on his hips. "If she continues this lie on seeing the souls of the departed, I'm going to send her to the Temple of Eva in Heine for re-education, Ballard…"

"Please be assured Hierarch, I will speak to her over this matter in length once I get her clean." Ballard stated, interrupting the Hierarch before he could say something hateful. He bowed once to the Elven leader and, taking Mune's hand, exited the Temple. Mune left a trail of muddy footprints as she walked, earning a noise of disgust from one of the Temple's Magisters as they passed her.

"Mune, you've got to stop yourself from chasing the spirits, you can't talk to them, and it's likely that they don't see you." Ballard scolded gently as he washed Mune in the claw-footed tub inside of their house later. Mune glared at the wall beyond Ballard as he scrubbed her back, and stuck her lower lip out as far as she could.

Ballard sat back as he wiped sweat from his brow, and inspected the scrubbing he'd done on Mune. He'd already emptied muddy water from the tub and refilled it three times, and he was pleased to say he was finally done. Her hair, however, was so tangled with leaves, moss and twigs that he mourned to think it wasn't salvageable. "What did you do, wallow in it?" he grumbled under his breath.

The next day, Mune stood with Ballard in the Gatekeeper's gazebo next to the Temple of Eva. The state of her hair hadn't been salvageable, and Ballard had to cut it. The once long-haired Mune now sported a boyish haircut similar to the one Ballard had given himself when he was attempting to court Fala, making her look more like the boy she behaved as.

"Lord Greyhelm, welcome to the Elven Village!" Ballard exclaimed as two figures blinked into existence in front of them. A short Dwarf cried out happily as Ballard approached him, and the two men hugged like old friends.

"Hierarch Felagund, it's a pleasure!" Tacitus Greyhelm exclaimed, patting Ballard roughly on the back. He pulled away and put an arm around the shy figure standing behind him, pushing forward a Dark Elven boy with white hair just long enough to be put into a short ponytail. "I'd like you to meet my eldest son, Evzen." Tacitus introduced, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"It's a pleasure to meet you young Master Greyhelm." Ballard said with a smile, holding out a hand. Evzen hesitantly took it, and Ballard shook it enthusiastically. He smiled as Evzen peered curiously around him, to where Mune had hidden herself behind his robes. With a chuckle he stepped aside, stopping Mune as she tried to move with the robes to continue hiding. "This is my grandchild, Mune. Mune, meet Evzen and his father Lord Greyhelm. They're visiting from the far away city of Schuttgart." Ballard introduced gently, pushing Mune towards the Dark Elven boy. His face lit up as he saw Mune, and she felt a strange tingle in her chest as he took her hand and shook it eagerly.

"I'm pleased to meet you!" Evzen exclaimed happily. A smile formed on Mune's face as Evzen beamed down at her, and she giggled.

"Why don't you kids go play while Hierarch Felagund and I talk business?" Tacitus encouraged, pushing them both gently towards the east gate.

"Alright father!" Evzen agreed. "Come on, lets go!" he said to Mune, and raced towards the gate. Mune was right after him in an instant, turning the rush to get to the gate into a race. Tacitus and Ballard watched them run with smiles on their faces, and both chuckled as Mune tripped and fell on her face.

"It's been a long time since I've seen such a happy smile on Evzen. He doesn't have many boys his age to play with, you see." Tacitus said with a sigh. Ballard's eyes widened and he looked down at Tacitus in shock.

"Boy? Oh no, Mune is my grand_daughter_. My only grand_son_ is in Gludio, taking his Knight test." Ballard stated. Tacitus looked up at him in shock, and then back at the children, whom had just disappeared down the bridge leading to land.

"I told Evzen that he would be playing with your grandson today…" Tacitus worried. He shrugged a moment later and recovered with a large smile. "No matter, I'm sure he'll figure it out himself." He said good-naturedly as he and Ballard wandered into town.

Mune played with Evzen the entire day, hardly stopping once to rest. She'd never met a boy that she had no desire to stand up to before, and he didn't try to impress her with stupid boyish antics. Mune was too young to realize the strange feeling in her tiny chest was the starts of her first, honest crush. She only knew what children knew, that she wanted to be around this young boy, and cling to him any chance she could

As the sun began to set in the western sky, she and Evzen finally stopped to rest. They both leaned against the back of a house panting, and faced the railing preventing people from falling over the edge of the floating platform the village was located upon. Mune blushed as Evzen looked over to her and grinned, and then he stood up to stretch. She stood as well as he climbed onto the lower part of the railing, so he could lean over slightly and look at the lake below. He looked to the sky next, and took a deep breath as the breeze blew over him.

"This is the most fun I've ever had!" he exclaimed as Mune approached him. He glanced over his shoulder at her and grinned widely. Mune echoed it, and peered under the railing to see what he had been looking at. "I've never had another boy my age to play with, all of my brothers are so much younger than me!" he said happily. Mune froze as she looked over the railing, and then slowly looked back up at him. The warm feeling that had been coursing through her chest all day suddenly grew cold, and a feeling she would later identify as heartbreak in her older years, settled there.

"I'm not a boy…" she said in a small voice, her throat throbbing with an unidentifiable pain. Evzen seemed to ignore her, and breathed in the air again. Mune began to tremble, her feelings hurt. There was only one way she knew how to deal with hurt feelings…

"Ah…what shall we play next…?" Evzen wondered aloud as Mune stood. Before he could react, Mune grabbed him by the back of his tunic and pushed him as hard as she could. She had intended only to push him and run, but with how he was perched, she ended up heaving him over the railing. She burst into tears the instant she realized he was falling, the young Dark Elf mistaking her guilt and grief to be cold laughter. She raced into the village screaming for Ballard the instant she heard him hit the water.

Mune forgot that day as she grew older, the guilt over loosing her first crush and friend to such a stupid thing done by her forcing it into the recesses of her memory. By doing this, Mune's tomboyish self turned more aggressive, and she became renowned through the village as being the biggest bully of her generation. Word spread, and soon nearly every villager would avoid her gaze, even if she'd never spoken to them before. The increase in negative response from people she didn't even know closed Mune's heart off more, and soon she even forgot how to cry.


	18. Chapter 17

_The present, Schuttgart. _

Early morning, three days after the ball, Bilia rose from bed unusually early for herself. She decided, as she relieved herself, it was the cold that had woken her. The morning seemed unusually chilly, even for the usual frigidity of Schuttgart. She wandered down the stairs of her father's manor a few moments later, and warmed herself a cup of milk to take back to her room with her to help her sleep a few more hours before her shift as Gatekeeper began.

"You're certain that this schedule is correct?" a voice Bilia didn't recognize came from her father's study as she passed it. Bilia halted, and backtracked a few steps. The door hadn't been shut completely, and she peered through the crack that had been left open. She narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of her father walking around his desk to a wall of books, and pulled a sheet of paper from between two of them. She tilted her head curiously as he crossed his study to the other side, and handed the paper to a Dark Elf she didn't recognize.

"I prepared his schedule myself, and knowing that trusting, naïve pup, he'll follow it to the letter." Esham stated as the Dark Elf scanned it. The Dark Elf had long, silver hair, and wore ragged armor that appeared to have seen a lot of use. "Just make sure you kill him in a way that it can't be traced back to me, it would be useless to go through all of this work just to be involved in a scandal when I retake the throne." He growled, looking down at the Dark Elf with an authoritative glare. The Dark Elf snorted lightly and folded the paper, which he stowed into his leather breastplate.

"Well, you came to the right man for a silent job. You'll be back on the throne by tonight." The Dark Elf stated. Bilia gasped lightly as she realized her father was plotting the assassination of Evzen, and backed away from the crack with her hand over her mouth. "What was that?" The Dark Elf asked, his hand reaching for his dagger. Bilia's eyes widened and she searched desperately up and down the hall for a place to dash. Finding nothing she turned on heel to bolt towards the front of the house.

The Dark Elf burst from the study the moment she left it, and Bilia cried out in fear as he dashed after her. Whimpering loudly, she threw her mug of milk at him, which he flung out of his way easily. Milk splattered from the mug and hit him in his eye, momentarily stopping him as he cried out in surprise more than pain. He took up the chase again as she reached the door, and pulled her back into the house by her hair as she tried to run outside. She screamed and kicked as he dragged her back in, and shut the door tightly. Bilia was thrown to the floor roughly, and she covered her face with one arm as the Dark Elf straddled her and pulled out his dagger.

"Karybdis, enough! You murder my daughter and I will call the guards!" Esham snapped as he entered the foyer. The Dark Elf assassin frowned and narrowed his eyes in confusion at Esham before glancing down at Bilia. He stood up and moved away from her as Esham hauled her to her feet roughly.

"Father, I won't let you kill Evzen, he's done nothing wrong!" Bilia cried, struggling against the vice like grip Esham had on her arm. He shook her roughly once, and thrust his face into hers, intimidating her struggles into compliance.

"You will do well to remember to not meddle in the affairs of men." Esham snarled, spittle flying from his mouth and landing in his thick brown beard. He pulled her through the house then, and into the kitchen.

"No, father, no!" Bilia pleaded as Esham dragged her towards a tiny door that led to the crawlspace where various herbs and foods were stored. He flung the door open on the crawlspace and shoved Bilia in roughly. She tumbled to the dirt floor, and scrambled to her feet to try and jump back out as Esham slammed the door shut.

"You will remain in there until I am back on the throne of Schuttgart." Esham snapped, locking the door and pocketing the key. Bilia wailed on the other side and beat it as hard as she could; hoping that one of the servants would wake and hear her, and put an end to this madness.

"Is it wise to let her live? She knows of our plans." Karybdis asked as Esham returned to the foyer.

"She will learn to hold her tongue before the day is through, or I shall deal with her myself." He said in a menacing voice, grinning darkly at the other man. In the cellar, Bilia gasped and moved away from the door with her hands over her mouth. Never before had she noticed such corruption within her father, had being Lord of Schuttgart done so much to him? Was regaining the throne so important that he would murder his only child? Choking back a frightened sob, Bilia moved to the small, rectangular window high in the wall of the cellar, and climbed up onto a table holding baskets of herbs and jars of preserved fruits to look out.

"Someone…help?" she called softly, too afraid of both her father and the Dark Elf to scream. When only a soft breeze of snow answered her, she succumbed to frightened sobbing and slid down to her knees.

"Lord Evzen!" Krystof called as Evzen and a group of three guards walked briskly through the inner castle. Evzen paused and glanced over his shoulder as the manservant dashed towards them as fast as he could. He arrived out of breath, and tried to swallow and regain his composure. "Lord Evzen, surely you don't mean what this letter states!" Krystof exclaimed, holding a simple piece of parchment in a trembling hand out to Evzen. He glanced down at it without interest, and then back up to Krystof.

"Yes, I'm quite sure it means what it says." Evzen stated, turning away from the manservant.

"You can't be serious! You can't dismiss me; I've been with your family for longer than you've been a Greyhelm!" Krystof exclaimed, his eyes bulging out of his head. "If only Lord Tacitus had borne blood children, they would never be this disrespectful…"

"Mr. Vorchek, shall I speak to you of true disrespect?" Evzen asked loudly, turning around to face the man again. Krystof went silent as he'd never heard Evzen speak to him by using his last name before. Without waiting for the man to respond, Evzen continued; "True disrespect, Mr. Vorchek, is when you not only authorize the usage of gallons of aphrodisiac, but send wedding proposals to nobles in other cities, and sabotage any moment I have with a girl I do indeed care for, all without my permission! THAT is true disrespect Krystof, and I will not hear any more stuttering excuses you may give me about preserving the purity of the noble blood, or the honor of the house of Greyhelm. It is quite not needed, sir. Good day." He turned on heel and marched out of the inner castle, a servant dashing out and placing a heavy coat over his shoulders as he walked.

"Bad luck old man…come along, I'll help you get packed." A young butler attempted to console Krystof, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Krystof smacked it away angrily, and stormed towards his quarters alone.

"Are you certain that it's wise to leave the castle today, sir?" the Greyhelm's personal secretary asked as he rushed alongside Evzen. Evzen climbed into the carriage waiting for him at the castle gates, and settled himself inside.

"If it's not today, then when will I get issues outside of the castle done? It's been nothing but diplomatic meeting after diplomatic meeting since the ball with no rest between. I need to see to the matters of my own territory before handling the complaints and apologies to every other nobleman in the world. As much as they threaten, we are in no way in a position of war; the nobles that dare to threaten it merely want me groveling at their feet. As such, they can be patient for a day while I attend to people who are vastly more important than they." Evzen stated, and then shut the door to the carriage. Two of his guard escorts jumped up into the drivers' seat of the carriage, and with a motion from Evzen's hand, they moved on.

Evzen sighed heavily inside of the coach and pulled a stack of papers from where they'd been placed under his seat. He began to pour over them intently, determined to get as much paperwork done as necessary. Ever since Chostani's accusation of rape, noble after noble had come to the castle seeking both apology and gossip. It was one aspect of being a noble that Evzen never understood; why did he have to apologize to them for something personal in his life? Still, he bit back the scathing words that wished to erupt and sat patiently through every meeting that he had, listening quietly to their insults. Some part of him wondered if the noblemen of the world weren't actually just incredibly bored and hateful of how lazy their lives were, and merely waited for a chance to let out their frustrations on the first person that they could get away with insulting.

His current trip to the mines was verbally spoken as a visual survey of his territory, but in honesty, he was finally making his trip to the reopened mines to inspect it. Fearing treachery amongst the councilmen, Evzen had purposefully made his trip secretive, to help protect himself from harm. No one but his father and Masaya knew of where he traveled today, and he felt safe enough with that knowledge to travel with few guards.

As they passed the city, Evzen glanced briefly at one of the three city entrances. His heart fell as he didn't see Mune, but knowing that the chance of her being there was one in a million, he dismissed it just as fast. Had he let his eyes linger a moment longer, he would've caught sight of the shadow that dashed from a stack of firewood near the city, a shadow that jumped onto his carriage and held on as the horses trotted towards the Plunderous Plains.

Mune exited Haibane's clan hall later that afternoon, and stretched. She'd slept in that day, and awoke finally feeling rested after two nights of tossing and turning. After the ball, she'd fallen asleep on Telesphoros, and woken up the next morning in her own bed. Telesphoros was nowhere to be found afterwords, and she worried that he'd left the city without saying goodbye. Ryonai and Vuylay had stayed overnight after the ball as well, as Ryonai waited patiently for a chance to speak with Evzen. The scandal that erupted after the ball completely bogged Evzen down, and Ryonai finally had to return to Heine without seeing him.

Feeling the need to practice on the training dummies within the Warrior's Guild, Mune's first thought was to dress in her armor and wander towards the church. There was yet another great commotion on the stairs as she approached, however, and this drew her interest instead. A crowd of agitated people had gathered around the place where Bilia usually stood, and argued amongst themselves.

"What's going on?" Mune asked loudly, hoping she'd get an answer.

"That lazy Gatekeeper hasn't shown up! We've been waiting here for three hours, since the last Gatekeeper left for the day!" an angry woman snapped, shifting her hold on a toddler in her arms. "I always knew that girl would abandon her duties! I have a sick mother in Oren that needs medicine!" Her voice dissolved with the angry protests of the rest of the crowd as Mune moved down the stairs and into the residential district around the church. Bilia not showing up to her job was odd, even Mune knew that much. Something didn't feel right about her mysterious sick day, and Mune walked through the rich district in hopes of finding her house.

She searched for nearly a half hour, knocking on some doors, and peering through windows of others. As she passed a house near the westernmost staircase into the poor district, a strange hissing noise met her ears. She stopped as she heard it again, more insistent, and glanced around her. It sounded almost like an angry snake, but it puzzled her as to why there'd be a snake in such a cold place.

"Down here you ditz!" Bilia's persistent voice whispered loudly. Mune's eyes widened and she looked around in earnest now, hearing Bilia but not seeing her. "I said down here! That's right, look DOWN." Bilia snapped, her voice still low. Mune blinked as Bilia stuck an arm out and waved it through the small rectangular window set at the ground level. She rushed to the window and fell to her knees, and began digging the snow away from it so she could see Bilia better.

"What are you doing in there? Did you go for a snack and get locked in?" Mune asked as she unearthed the window.

"Very funny." Bilia stated flatly, glaring at Mune. She shook her head a moment later, and reached out to grab the hem of the short red and gold dress Mune wore beneath her armor. "I don't have time to get into another fight with you, this is urgent and you have to believe me. My father has sent someone to kill Evzen so that he may take the throne of Schuttgart again. Please, you have to hurry and help him. As much as I dislike no longer being a princess of the land, Evzen hasn't done anything worth getting killed over! Please help him!" she said in a rush of air, tears filling her eyes as she spoke.

"You're not joking, are you?" Mune asked in disbelief. Bilia sniffled once and shook her head, pursing her lips tightly as she tried to swallow back her tears. Without a word Mune stood, and dashed towards Haibane's clan hall.

"Wait!" Bilia cried before Mune got too far. Mune slid to a stop, and turned around to look at the Gatekeeper. "I overheard father tell the assassin that Evzen was going to the Plunderous Plains today, he's going to check on the mines that just opened." She said, straining against the bars in hopes that her voice was carrying. Mune nodded once, and then continued on her trek.

Fire erupted from a smokestack near the mine entrance as shirtless human and Dwarven men shoveled coal into the stone oven that it attached to. Evzen stood within reach of the heat from the fireplace and poured over a sheet that the Mine foreman had handed him, whom stood beside Evzen, watching his face eagerly.

"Very good, Golden. Everything appears to be up to standard and in perfect working order." Evzen stated with a pleased smile, holding a hand out to the foreman. Golden took it with a proud grin, and shook it enthusiastically.

"That means a lot coming from you, Lord Greyhelm. We'll return prosperity to Schuttgart yet!" The blonde-haired Dwarf exclaimed. It was late afternoon, but the sun was already nearly set in the western sky. The tour of the mineshaft hadn't lasted more than an hour, but Evzen felt exhausted as if he'd been working alongside the men. A loud whistle blew from the roof of the cabin that the miners used to bunk in when their shifts lasted for days, startling both men.

"Oh, there's the dinner bell." Golden stated, mopping his brow with a dirty handkerchief. Dwarves always amazed Evzen, even in the most frigid of temperatures; they somehow managed to work up a sweat. Golden took a few steps towards the cabin as men abandoned their posts and hurried inside. He paused, and glanced back over his shoulder. "Won't you join us, Lord Greyhelm?" he asked as he realized Evzen hadn't moved from his spot.

"I'll be along in a moment, I'm just going to finish going over the paperwork for your men here." Evzen murmured, glancing through the sheets of paper that Golden had given him. The foreman smiled and nodded once, then dashed as fast as his short legs could carry him to the mess hall.

As the mining area cleared of men, Evzen moved towards the furnace to read by the light the fire gave off. He turned his back to the furnace so the light cast across his paper, and put a thoughtful hand to his chin. Silently, a figure crept towards him, making barely a sound in the snow. Evzen's ears finally picked up the faintest of noises, which he was just turning towards as a dagger seemingly came out of the shadows and stabbed him in his lower back, on the right side. Evzen swung around with a cry of pain, and reflexively cast an ice spell at his attacker. A block of pointed ice formed on Karybdis' head, and he stumbled around the mine clearing, trying to scrape it from his face.

Logic screamed to Evzen's legs to carry him towards the cabin, where dozens of miners whom could help him were, but the fear instinct had overcome him and he fled into the darkening woods. Karybdis managed to break away the ice from one of his eyes, and pulled a bow from where it was secured over his shoulder. He narrowed his free eye as he aimed for Evzen's head, and released it. The arrow flew straight and true, but sailed harmlessly into the night air as Evzen ducked behind some trees. Cursing beneath the ice, Karybdis continued to struggle with pulling it from his face.

Minutes later, Mune raced into the mining area, gasping for breath. She'd taken Haibane's personal Gatekeeper inside of the hall to the abandoned railroad station at the center of the plains, and raced from there. Miners, now finished with their meal, crowded around a spot near the fireplace, and Mune pushed her way through them. A large splatter of blood sat at the middle of their circle, and Mune felt her heart leap into her throat.

"What happened here, is Evzen all right?" Mune asked, grabbing one of the miners by the vest he wore.

"We haven't seen him, that's what we're worked up about too!" the miner responded, frightened. Mune released his clothes and looked around; making sure that Evzen wasn't still in the area.

As the foreman began barking orders for groups of miners to search in various places for Evzen, Mune scanned the area, trying to pick up some clue they hadn't noticed yet. She narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of another splatter of blood twenty feet away from the mines, next to a tree. The snow before the splatter had been swept, she realized, to cover up the tracks of Evzen and possibly, his attacker. Mune knelt before the tree and felt the spot of blood, trying to determine how long it had been there. As she squinted into the darkness she found where Evzen's attacker had finally given up on sweeping the tracks, and she took off after it.

Evzen limped as he walked; the wound in his back had slowly caused his right leg to go numb. He'd run until he could no longer get his leg to cooperate, and now he was reduced to limping as fast as he could. He paused as what appeared to be a darkened cavern sat ahead of him, and hope surged into his chest. Finding a burst of strength, Evzen hurried inside. It wasn't as bitingly cold inside of this cave, and he could hear water dripping from somewhere in its depths. He lit a light orb once he felt he was far enough inside, and surprised himself by finding he'd stumbled upon an abandoned railroad tunnel. The tracks from the railroad of old were twisted, and some had been removed by the bandits that roamed freely in the Plains.

"You fought for your life better than most, but you forgot one major thing," a cold voice came from behind him. Evzen's eyes widened as he turned, and he felt his hope fly away into the night sky as he realized Karybdis stood behind him, arrow taut in his bow. "You leave a blood trail after being receiving a wound like that." He let the arrow fly with his final word, but once again fear was ahead of him, and Evzen shifted quickly enough to only be struck in the shoulder. He flew backwards with the force of the arrow, and landed on his back. The light orb he'd conjured remained in the air where he'd summoned it, illuminating the tunnel as Karybdis approached him.

Evzen's breath came in quick, frightened pants, and he attempted to rise to his feet and flee. Karybdis slammed a foot into Evzen's wounded shoulder, and stepped hard on the arrow wound. Evzen screamed and arched his back, the pain paralyzing him.

"Why would you do this?" he managed to ask, tears of frustration and pain forming at the corners of his eyes. Karybdis merely lifted his eyebrows in interest, and placed his feet on either side of Evzen's chest as he crouched over him.

"Highest bidder, sorry." Karybdis stated. His hand shot out before Evzen could ask any more questions, and he covered his nose and mouth. With his other hand he pulled his dagger from where it was sheathed at his back, and lifted it. "Give the goddess a kiss for me, won't you?" he whispered, the dagger blade gleaming once in the light orb's light before he sliced it underneath Evzen's chin.

Karybdis lifted his head as he felt rather than heard someone new enter the tunnel. He turned around as Mune slid to a stop behind him, her eyes large. They darted down once, and horror flooded her entire body as she saw the bloody dagger Karybdis held, as well as the spreading pool of blood around Evzen. She cried out in rage and grief, and unsheathed her swords as she flew at him.

She swung first one then the other at him, Karybdis somehow moving quickly enough to block them in succession with his dagger. He jumped away from her as she slashed the sword in her right hand towards his midsection, and put his hand down to slow himself as he slid backwards across the packed dirt ground of the tunnel. Her face one of cold determination, Mune held her swords away from her body and dashed at him again. Curling his upper lip in a menacing expression, Karybdis quickly stuck the plated toe of his boot into the ground, and then back flipped away from her, kicking dirt into her face as he went. Mune reeled backwards in an instant, the clods of hardened soil lodging into her eyes.

"As much as I would enjoy dancing with you, I was only paid to kill one tonight." Karybdis stated, as he pulled a Gatekeeper scroll from inside of the vest he wore over his leather breastplate. "Until we dance again." He said with an elegant bow, and unrolled the scroll. There was a flash of light, and as Mune finally cleared her vision he was gone.

The threat now departed, Mune dropped both of her swords and fell to her knees next to Evzen. Grief welled in her throat, and she whimpered as he stared at the ceiling of the tunnel, his eyes glassy. "Evzen…Evzen…don't leave me." She choked, holding her hands above him as she desperately tried to think of some way to stop the bleeding. Karybdis had cut him deeply where his chin and throat met, blood pumping out in great thick gushes with his heartbeat. "Here…Evzen, here…" she lifted his hand and placed it over the wound, "here, I put your hand on the wound, now you just have to heal yourself!" she tried, giving him a hopeful smile. His eyes continued to stare at the ceiling of the tunnel, and his hand merely fell limply to the ground after she released it. She lifted her head as the light orb he'd conjured began to flicker, panic spreading through her as she realized that meant he was loosing strength.

"Evzen, stay with me! You have to heal yourself, now!" Mune shouted at him, her voice thick. Tears dropped out of her eyes and onto his cheek as she hovered over his face, trying to get him to look at her. "Please don't leave me, not you too!" she sobbed, lifting his hand again and holding it over his slit throat. "Evzen! Come back!" she cried as the light began to fade from his eyes. She wept loudly as his jaw relaxed slightly, and the pulse of his heart that she could feel so plainly in his hand, faded. She pressed her forehead against his as she cried, and clutched his hand. "Don't leave me…please…" she pleaded in a whisper, tears sliding to the corners of her mouth and wetting her lips. "You can't leave me…I love you…"

"By the whiskers of Maphr's dog!" a voice shouted. Mune lifted her head swiftly to find the foreman of the mines and the group he'd hand selected to accompany him standing at the mouth of the tunnel, each holding torches. They rushed inside and pushed Mune away from Evzen's side roughly. "Quickly, bring a bandage, and a scroll!" Golden barked. A roll of fabric was handed to him, and he bound it quickly around Evzen's wound. Another man began pumping his chest, trying to restart Evzen's heart.

Mune hugged herself as she watched helplessly as the men try to revive Evzen. She felt that she'd failed everyone; Bilia, all the people of Schuttgart, Terebel, and Calisan…even Ballard. She'd done nothing but think selfishly of her own feelings the entire time she was in Schuttgart, she felt could've prevented this from happening had she not raced from the ball that night. _No,_ she thought, _I could've prevented this from happening if I hadn't been so afraid of my own heart five years ago._

A strange ethereal cloud suddenly walked away from the group of miners and towards the opposite end of the tunnel. Mune tilted her head curiously at it until it reached the edge of the light given off by the torches. She realized the cloud wasn't a cloud at all, but a strange smoke in the shape of a person that glowed like moonlight as it wandered out of the tunnel. Her heart began to pound as she saw, although not clearly, that the smoke held Evzen's features.

She raced after the smoke, and emerged from the tunnel on a slope leading down to an icy river. An old mineshaft, boarded up for years, was above the river, and ice floated along the top like frozen, oversized lily pads. The river disappeared into a low cavern in the mountainside, taking the water to other places. The snow was untouched here, as if the bandits themselves never came to this place.

As Mune ran down the hill after the Evzen-smoke, hundreds of other smokes blinked into existence around her. Mune stopped herself with difficulty, stumbling over her feet as she nearly tripped on one that seemed to slither along the ground like a snake. She choked back a horrified noise as the smoke lifted its head to look ahead of itself, and she realized it was in the shape of a half-developed infant.

"What is this? Evzen, don't follow them!" Mune exclaimed, finding the Evzen-smoke in the crowd and following it. He stopped along the edge of the river with the rest of the person-shaped smokes, their collective figures melding together and forming a strange, dim light along the bank.

"You can see them? An odd gift for the living." A man's voice came. Mune looked over her shoulder to find a young brown-haired man wearing maroon robes classic to the mages of the Ivory Tower standing behind her. Mune glanced around her body, wondering if he was speaking to someone else. He looked nearly as intangible as the smoke-people in front of her, and she wondered if the darkness was playing tricks on her. "Yes, I'm talking to you. Those you see cannot hear nor see anything now, just their destination." The man said, coming to stand next to her. "My name is Nellis by the way. I died here nearly a thousand years ago." He introduced without hesitation, oblivious to the look of horror on Mune's face.

"What is this, what is their destination?" she demanded, reaching instinctively for her swords. Her hands groped air, and she looked down at the empty sheathes at her hips. She cursed under her breath as she remembered that she'd dropped them in the tunnel. Nellis regarded her curiously for a moment, before facing the line of spirits.

"Be gracious, child of life, for you are about to witness something that every scholar in the world would sell their soul to see. You are going to witness how souls enter the Abyss." Nellis stated, clasping his arms behind his back. Mune gasped and looked at the spirits in horror. Evzen was going straight to the Abyss? But why? Why wouldn't he linger until someone revived his body?

A strange black vortex suddenly opened up beneath the surface of the water, right where the river flowed into the mountain beneath the abandoned shaft. Mune cried out and reached for Evzen, trying to grab him, or get his attention. Her hands went through his glowing figure, tiny wisps of glowing smoke trailing the movement of her hand. Again and again she tried, grunting in frustration every time her hands went through him. Nellis began to chuckle as she stopped to pant, and she looked over her shoulder to glare at him.

"You can't touch them, they exist on a different plane from you now. You know those glittering specks that you see when you pass underwater? The specks that you can reach for but never catch? Those are the spirits of the dead." Nellis stated with a smile. "Unless of course, you'd like very much to go with him….I can arrange that." He offered, his smile growing sinister. The spirits suddenly fell into the water one by one, drawing Mune's attention away from Nellis. She gasped as Evzen fell into the water as well, disappearing below the surface without disturbing it. Mune thought wildly for a moment, and then stripped out of her breastplate and hip guards as fast as she could. She deposited the armor on the ground with a loud clatter, and jumped into the frigid water.

The cold robbed Mune of breath, and she resurfaced three times as she tried to dive down after Evzen. Swimming as hard as she could despite the cold water numbing her limbs, Mune reached for Evzen as he floated serenely towards the swirling black vortex at the end of the river. She opened her mouth and attempted to scream his name, but her voice only came out in a burst of bubbles. A sob of frustration escaped her mouth, and she groped for Evzen again. It seemed the closer she'd get to him, the farther away he'd float. Unable to keep up with the speed of which he traveled, Mune shut her eyes as tightly as she could, and screamed his name in her heart.

A miracle seemed to happen in the next moment, as Evzen's spirit suddenly turned around. Facial features formed upon the soul, and he looked at her in shock. Hope sprung into Mune's chest as she realized that somehow, he'd heard her, and he could see her. Mune reached her hand towards him as hard as she could, and the Evzen spirit did the same.

The vortex seemed to disapprove of miracles, and suddenly began to swirl faster just before their fingers touched. The current in the river increased, sucking the spirits into it at an increased rate. The Evzen spirit looked over his shoulder fearfully, and then looked back at Mune. His mouth moved, but no voice reached Mune's ears. They groped for one another as Evzen was pulled closer to the vortex. She reached desperately one last time, her eyes widening with shock as she touched something. Somehow, she'd managed to grab Evzen's arm, even though moments before her hand had traveled through him.

She tried to swim away from the vortex, but it already had Evzen by his ankles. The air in Mune's lungs was fast growing stale, and she winced as she tried to get her leg muscles to cooperate and kick away from the vortex. It was to no avail, and Evzen was sucked in more.

He clung desperately to her arm, his mouth still moving in voiceless words, as more of him disappeared into the spinning black maw. Mune cried out, the last of the air in her lungs releasing in a great burst of bubbles, as her arm began to disappear into the vortex as well. Her skin felt as if it were both freezing from sub zero frigidity and blistering from extreme heat at the same time, and she struggled to be free.

A hand suddenly grabbed Mune's free arm, startling her. She turned towards the new person, and found Telesphoros staring at her seriously. He grabbed her face and pressed his mouth to hers, pushing some of his air into her lungs. Grabbing her arm tightly he began to swim away from the vortex. Souls shot past them at an alarming speed as Evzen's spirit was pulled from the gateway to the Abyss, and the vortex began to shrink as he appeared. It disappeared as soon as his feet were free, the sudden lack of resistance sending Mune towards the surface gracefully.

Evzen's spirit pressed against her body as she rose, embracing even though there was no flesh for her to hold. She stared into his face, suddenly feeling as if they were the only ones within the water. Her reflection stared back at her as she neared the top, reflected from the underside of the surface. Spirit-Evzen lowered his face to her, and Mune shut her eyes, wishing she could feel the kiss he was giving her just then.

Telesphoros kicked quickly to swim ahead of them, and before Mune broke the surface, he grabbed Evzen's spirit. It turned into an ethereal fire in his hand, and Mune gaped at him in shock as it disappeared into his body as he held the flame to his chest. He then grabbed Mune around her waist, and broke the surface with her, both gasping greatly for air.

The miners, some holding the caps they wore to keep soot from their hair, walked in a slow procession line from the abandoned railroad tunnel back to the mines. Each had their head bowed, and some openly wept. The burliest of the men carried Evzen's body, his face covered with a white cloth. They'd failed in reviving their castle lord, now all that was left was to return his body to Schuttgart and hold a funeral.

The procession was brought up short as a shivering and wet Mune and Telesphoros came into sight, standing in the middle of the path they traveled. Golden shoved his way to the front of the procession, angry that someone would dare hold up their sad journey back to the mine. Without a word, Telesphoros handed Mune a scroll, and nodded at her once. She took it without question, and opened it. A magic circle flared to life beneath the man that held Evzen's body, and the Miners all looked at it in surprise and wonder. Telesphoros then held a hand to his chest next, and then pulled it away, ethereal smoke following. It formed into a bright orb that hovered uncertainly in the air for a few moments, and then flew towards Evzen's body. There was a flash of light as the orb and body met, and the Miners backed away a few steps.

There was a tense silence, and then a collective gasp of wonder as Evzen's hand twitched. The men began cheering as Evzen raised his hand hesitantly, and pulled the white cloth from his face. He looked at the miners wearily as they celebrated, smiling slightly as he held a hand to the wound Karybdis had made, healing it. Mune smiled genuinely in relief for only a moment before exhaustion from stress and cold settled in her, and she collapsed against Telesphoros.

Later on at Schuttgart castle, the city council filed into the meeting room off of Evzen's study. They looked around at each other in confusion, as they'd been taken from dinner by a call for an urgent meeting. They conversed amongst themselves, their voices growing louder as they began to irritate each other. They quieted as the door to the meeting room opened again, and Esham passed through it. Their voices reached a crescendo as they began shouting questions at him as he took Evzen's seat at the head of the table. He held up his hand, and the men around him slowly fell into silence.

"Gentlemen, I know you're all wondering why I called you together on such short notice tonight…" Esham began solemnly, folding his hands on the table.

"You bet we do, you made me leave a nice hot meal to trudge a half hour through the cold to get here! This room hasn't even been properly heated for us, Esham!" one of the councilmen, a man with a bushy red beard, shouted. There were jeers of agreement, and Esham held his hand up to silence them again. Once they were settled, he sighed deeply and regarded them each with a look of sympathy.

"It is with the deepest regret and heaviest of hearts that I called you here tonight, gentlemen." Esham began again, his voice still low. "It has fallen upon me to inform you that our Lord, Evzen Greyhelm has fallen to the blade of an assassin this night." The councilmen began to murmur loudly amongst themselves, and those loyal to Evzen began throwing questions at Esham. "Our peaceful territory of Schuttgart will surely fall into chaos if a new Lord doesn't take the throne right away…so it is with the deepest of grief that I nominate mysel…"

"And how is it that you would know of my assassination, Sir Esham? No messenger was dispatched to the town or castle from the mines." Evzen asked, making his presence known. Each man turned in their seat towards the farthest corner of the room, where Evzen had been standing, hidden by the shadows, since they entered. Dried blood caked his throat and clothes, and his skin was pale from the amount of blood he lost. Some councilmen gasped at the state he was in, while others began asking questions loudly. Like Esham, Evzen held up his hand for silence. "Well Sir Esham…I believe the council and I are waiting for your answer." He said, holding his head high as he smirked at the former castle Lord. Esham's mouth opened and closed several times as he gaped at Evzen in shock. He composed himself quickly, and cleared his throat.

"Lord Evzen, it's truly a miracle that you're alive!" he exclaimed, his voice convincingly happy. "I had feared something had befallen you when you did not return after so long and sent my own personal messenger to find out what had happened…"

"Father, how dare you lie to our council?" Bilia exclaimed, bursting into the room. She still wore her nightgown from that morning, and was disheveled and dirty. Esham stood as guards entered in behind her, and surrounded the table. "You made a pact with a Dark Elf assassin before the sun had even risen, to kill Evzen in a way to not link it back to you!" she recited, pointing a finger at him. Esham glared at her for a moment and then laughed nervously to the councilmen staring at him.

"My daughter, honorable councilmen, has fallen ill with an emotional disease…I fear demon possession…" he stated nervously. Evzen folded his arms across his chest, and regarded Esham without emotion.

"Sir Esham, you do realize that my trip to the mines was orchestrated to be kept secret from the council, as it was playing hooky with the endless meetings that the other noblemen wished to have with me, correct?" he asked, lowering his head slightly and staring at Esham from the top of his eyes. "So in all essence, only someone whom had snooped without permission in my study would've known about it." Esham's face turned several colors after this, ranging from a furious red, to a frightened white. Evzen nodded once at the guards behind Esham. "Arrest him." He said quietly, his voice cold.

"You can't do this! You have no solid proof!" Esham shouted as the guards grabbed him by his arms. He struggled as they dragged him from the room, resisting his arrest every step of the way. "If you do this Evzen, my clan will re-form and take your castle by force! You and your family will be dead before the sun rises!" he snarled as he was pulled through the study. His insults faded as he was taken from the study, leaving Evzen alone to face a group of nervous looking councilmen. Still in the doorway, Bilia slid to the floor, her knees weak with fear from Esham's threat. His words held truth, and she fearfully knew that they would target her first for betraying him.

Evzen circled the councilmen's table slowly, regarding each of them in turn. A few looked at him curiously while the rest tugged nervously at their collars. Evzen took his seat at the head of the table with a good natured smile, and clasped his hands upon the polished surface of the table.

"Well then, what shall we do now?" he asked, smiling at the council. "It seems the treachery didn't begin with Esham at all, did it gentlemen? There were some other hands in the honey pot as well." A few men paled, while others looked around curiously, wondering of whom Evzen spoke of. Evzen held out his hand without taking his eyes off of the councilmen, and the Greyhelm's personal secretary shuffled into the room quickly. He placed a rolled up parchment in Evzen's outstretched hand, and then shuffled out without looking at anyone. Still smiling, Evzen unrolled the parchment and placed it upon the table in front of him.

"What we have here, gentlemen, is a list given to me graciously by Linit Ladd-Innadril. You remember her, don't you? The lovely, innocent girl that I had previously been infatuated with?" he asked, looking at each one of them again. "Or perhaps you knew her better as the girl that you sought to use in her naïveté? "

"What is your point, Lord Evzen?" one of the pale-faced councilmen snapped, glaring at Evzen. Evzen froze him with the iciness behind his smile, and the man withdrew from him slightly.

"My point is, sir, that You, Councilman number seven, five, one and three are all under arrest for treason." He stated simply, clasping his hands upon the paper. Each man that he listed stood up in shock, and was instantly grabbed by the guards still lining the room.

"On what proof? The word of a little girl?" councilman three shouted as he attempted to shrug out of the guard's grip.

"No, councilman, not just on that. You all were witnessed by several guards and servants, even my family's former manservant Krystof, plotting openly about your coup. It was witnessed several times when you brought papers for Linit to forge my signature upon, as well. Take them away please." Evzen concluded, nodding at the guards. The men were taken away much like Esham had been, each shouting angry insults towards Evzen, some even speaking their mind of him truthfully for once.

"Wow, where did you learn such a bittersweet language?" Bilia asked in wonder from where she sat upon the floor. Evzen turned a genuine smile upon her, and stood slowly.

"Let's just say Lord Ryonai has given me some tips along the years." He grinned.


	19. Chapter 18

Deep in the dungeon, Esham roared with rage as his head was pulled from the bucket of ice water the guards had been repeatedly forcing it into. Water ran down his face and beard in torrents, and his previously tied back hair fell over his face in a soggy curtain.

"Again." The jailer commanded as Esham shot insults towards them, and the entirety of the Greyhelm family. He was forced back into the bucket, his words forming as loud bubbles as they held his face under the water. The two guards holding him down laughed and jeered as he struggled, always enjoying a chance to be cruel.

The jailer nodded for Esham to be pulled from the bucket as Evzen entered the torture chamber. The two guards holding Esham released him, and then stood at attention as Evzen approached them. Esham, his arms tied behind his back, could only lean over the bucket and pant as he awaited the next punishment to befall him.

"Sir Esham, I was in your council for years, it pains me to have to do this to you." Evzen stated gently, his eyes full of honest grief. "So I will ask you this once, and only once. Did you mean it when you said your clan would reform for the sole intention and purpose of killing me and my kin?" Esham lifted his head slowly to look at Evzen, gazing at him through the dripping locks of hair over his face. Hope that the small torture and humiliation he'd received would be enough to reform him sprang into Evzen's chest as Esham stared at him without emotion, and he let it show in his eyes.

"They'll kill you and string your insides all over the city like Grand Saint's day garland and rape your women like the dirty sluts they are!" Esham snarled. He spat at Evzen after that, and laughed like a madman as the guards seized him again to force his head back into the bucket.

"No, that will be enough!" Evzen barked sharply, stopping them before they'd forced his face under. "No…there is a more suitable punishment for him…"

Sleeping happily under the mound of blankets Mune had been slowly bringing him during the weeks she'd been in Schuttgart, Calisan was startled awake by the clinking of keys in the lock on his cell door. He sat up in confusion, trying to force the grogginess from his mind to comprehend what was happening. He frowned slightly as Evzen entered the cell once the door was opened, followed by Esham, whom was still being toted by the pair of guards.

"What is this?" Calisan asked, his voice slurring slightly from sleep.

"I'm terribly sorry for disturbing your slumber, Calisan Teristen, but I have a request to make of you." Evzen stated elegantly, bowing slightly to the bewildered Templar. He held out a hand, and the guards shoved Esham forward. "It seems this man not only was planning a treachery against me, but attempted to convince the council that you needed to rot in jail the rest of your life." Calisan stood up as he spoke, his eyes large. "It would do me a great favor if you would assist me in deciding a proper punishment for him." Evzen finished with a smile. Calisan slowly approached Esham and circled him, sizing him up.

"So this is the reason I got put down here, huh?" he mused to himself with a hand to his chin. "Huh, he probably couldn't even beat me in a sword fight." He smirked. Esham began to stutter angrily at him, but before he could form a word, an idea crossed Calisan's mind and he smacked his fist into his palm. "I have just the thing!" he exclaimed.

Nearly a half-hour later, the dungeon jailer sat in a tiny room off the dungeon, at a wooden table with a goblet in his hand and a nearly empty pitcher of mead in front of him. His head began to bob, and he rotated once upon his bottom before collapsing upon the table. The mead pitcher was taken from the table by one guard, as another pulled the jailer upright in his seat. The jailer grinned dumbly at the guard, and held up the half-full goblet to toast him, and then drained it in one gulp.

"He's drunk, sir." The guard, whom held the jailer up, announced. Standing across the room with Calisan, Evzen nodded once.

"Good, bring him in." he ordered. His arms still bound behind his back, Esham was pushed roughly inside of the tiny room. The guards jeered and laughed as he tripped on his own feet and fell onto his side. He'd been stripped of his clothing and dressed in a gown intended for a large woman. His long hair had been styled into a bun befitting a noblewoman, and his beard cut close to his face. Esham struggled to his knees and spat insults at the guards until the drunken jailer made a strange noise behind him. He slowly turned his head to look at the jailer, paling as he found him giving him a lusty grin.

"Yep, that's the look." Calisan stated, cringing in memory. Esham fell onto his bottom and scooted as far as he could from the jailer as he realized why he'd been put in a gown. Evzen nodded once and motioned for the guards to exit.

"Let's give our hardworking friend some privacy, shall we?" Evzen said good-naturedly, following Calisan out of the room.

"You can't do this to me, Evzen! I've done nothing to deserve this!" Esham screamed hysterically, his voice cracking with fear. The jailer had risen from his chair and was making his way towards Esham as they shut the door. The former Schuttgart Lord's scream echoed throughout the dungeon a moment later.

"Well, if that's all you need from me, I have a nice pile of blankets waiting for me back in cell five, so if you'll excuse me…" Calisan stated, ignoring the sounds coming from the tiny room and bowing politely. Evzen caught him by the arm as he passed, and smiled warmly.

"Why would you want to return to that cold cell when there's a hot bath and warm bed waiting for you upstairs?" Evzen asked, shutting his eyes with his smile. Calisan laughed at him first, thinking Evzen had made a joke. His smile faded as Evzen's expression didn't change, and Calisan looked at him with large eyes.

"You were serious?" he asked, hardly daring to believe. Evzen nodded, and Calisan whooped in joy. "Holy shit, this is great! I could use a bath, I smell like the anal fissure of an Ol Mahum!" he exclaimed happily. Evzen laughed at the crudeness of his words, and put an arm over Calisan's shoulders as the two headed for the stairs leading to a more comforting place.

It took three full days for the city to calm down after learning of the fate of the treacherous councilmen. During that time, Amari arrived from Heine and helped Evzen instate new laws to govern the land by. The first thing to be changed was the council, dissolving it and instead making the remaining, loyal councilmen his personal advisors. They received a higher pay and status as noblemen of Elmore with the change, securing their loyalty to Evzen for many years. Various other laws were made as well, taking power from some, and giving more to others.

It was the afternoon of the fourth day after Esham's arrest, when the door to Evzen's study opened without a preceding knock. Seated behind his desk facing a mound of paperwork, Evzen glanced up as a body slipped in. His eyebrows rose as he found Mune standing against the shut door, wearing a heavy black traveler's cloak. She approached him hesitantly, averting his eyes and blushing fiercely. She halted several feet from his desk, one of her hands kneading the other in nervousness. Sighing in frustration as he tilted his head at her curiously, she reached up and unhooked the clasp keeping the cloak shut, and let it fall from her shoulders.

Evzen's eyes widened as Mune's cloak fell away to reveal the ball gown she'd worn to the ball underneath. The places that had been ripped were sloppily repaired, and dirt still stained the edges. She'd attempted to make her appearance neat however, and had very obviously scrubbed her skin until it was raw, and styled her hair in a similar way that it had been that night.

"Um…this is the second time I've brought you back from the dead now…so…you kind of owe me a favor." Mune stated in a low voice, glancing at him quickly. She looked away just as fast, her cheeks an even deeper shade of crimson as she found him unintentionally gawking at her cleavage. _Jeez, he's seen me before in this, why is he acting like that_? She thought, trying to ease her embarrassment.

"What…kind of favor…do you wish?" he asked, struggling very hard to pull his eyes from her body to her face. Mune began fingering a rip in the black gauze around her waist, and glanced around the room nervously.

"You never came back to dance with me the night of the ball…and I waited forever." Mune stated, her voice coming a little braver as she found a bit of courage. It dissolved the second she looked at him again, and she lowered her head bashfully. "So…in return for saving you…do you think you could possibly…do that now…?" She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for him to laugh at her for her request, or for how silly she was behaving. A nervous chuckle met her ears instead, and she opened her eyes again to look at him.

"But I am not dressed in anything formal now…" he stated dumbly, holding his arms out to display his clothes. He wore a simple white tunic and black pants, something any commoner man would be found wearing in the city. Mune felt a stab of rejection, and she blinked at him once with large eyes.

"Ok…sorry to bother you." She stated quickly, leaning down to grab the cloak. Evzen dashed around the side of his desk as she tried to hurry to the door, and grabbed her by her wrist.

"But if you don't mind that, I will honor you with a dance." He said, smiling broadly.

They stood at the center of the empty ballroom a few moments later, facing one another. Mune still couldn't look Evzen in the face, as the look in his eyes caused her to blush each time. Clearing his throat, Evzen took a step away from her, and bowed elegantly. Mune stared at him blankly for a minute before exclaiming wordlessly, and returning his bow with a clumsy curtsey. She held her hands out in the leading fashion of a man before he could raise his, and he laughed.

"It is usually proper for a man to lead." He said, moving his hands under hers to correct them. Placing a hand at her waist, and making sure she put hers on his shoulder, he began to lead her in the steps of a waltz. Mune tried to watch the hem of her skirt as they went, and ended up stumbling over his toes several times. She became frustrated with herself, and pulled away from him.

"I can't do this after all." She stated mournfully. Before she took another step away from him, the sound of music suddenly flooded the ballroom. Evzen and Mune looked to the stage in unison to find Calisan, now clean, shaven and looking considerably healthier, seated on the edge, holding a music crystal. He smiled at them coyly, and Mune's entire face turned red.

"Now that there's music, you can't leave." Calisan stated, giving Mune an evil grin. Mune recovered from her embarrassment enough to glare at her brother, and Evzen's face turned pink in exchange. He smiled as Mune glanced back up at him, and held out his hands again.

"You were doing fine, just watch me instead of the floor." He said gently. "Let's try again, shall we?" he offered. Her face mirroring the pink tint of his, she slowly placed her hand in his and her arm upon his shoulder. Keeping his advice in mind, she kept her eyes locked on his as he led them to move once more.

Outside the castle, a mid-day snow storm engulfed the area. No one dared leave the warm confines of their home while the snow and ice blew, even the guards huddled in tents warmed by iron stoves. No traveler would try to enter the town this day, they knew. What they couldn't understand was why a pair of travelers would insist on leaving the town on foot, instead of by Gatekeeper. _Oh well, _they decided, _to each their own._

"We arrived on a windy day, and now we leave on a windy day. We have all the luck, don't we Teles?" Ahlmer asked as he and Telesphoros trudged through the knee-deep snow. They walked to the west, towards the lands of the Orcs, their next destination on their journey. He paused as Telesphoros didn't answer, and looked over his shoulder. His one-winged companion stood several feet behind him, staring at the city they'd just left with an unreadable expression.

"What's the matter, did you still need to be there with that girl who could see dead people?" Ahlmer asked, pulling the scarf from his mouth long enough to speak. Telesphoros shook his head, but didn't turn to face him.

"Everything should be fine now." He stated mysteriously as Ahlmer moved closer to him.

"Well that's good." The Dark Elf replied, not bothering to try and decipher what the Kamael meant. "How does someone get the skill to see dead people anyway? I think I could've enjoyed a skill like that after Hina'ea died." He asked as Telesphoros finally turned around to face him. He regarded Ahlmer without emotion before walking past him.

"Her father was already dead when she was conceived; the gift was born to her in relation to that." Telesphoros stated. Ahlmer took a step and then stopped to make a disgusted face.

"Gross, so her mother was into necrophilia? Did she tell you that?" he asked with a grimace.

"No, it was by the grace of Eva that she was conceived." Telesphoros stated. Ahlmer walked next to him for several minutes, waiting patiently for him to answer the second part of his question. Sighing heavily as he realized Telesphoros had ended the conversation with that last answer, he shook his head and pulled his cloak tighter around him. Their journey was going to be long; he just hoped it would be as easy as this last trip to Schuttgart had been.

Mune and Evzen still spun around the ballroom, dancing to the crystals that Calisan would play for them. She had finally gained coordination to follow his footsteps, and she laughed as he began to spin her faster. Calisan shook his head as he watched them, a thin smile on his face. He was happy to see his tomboyish little sister finally getting along with Evzen, but also jealous of how much fun they were having.

Their waltz came to an abrupt end as the shoddy repair in the black gauze covering her skirt suddenly pulled loose, and slipped under her shoe. She tripped on it, and fell forward ungracefully. It caught Evzen off-guard, and he clung to her in shock as the both of them tumbled to the ground. Sensing what they, themselves, hadn't realized yet, Calisan made a disgusted noise and abandoned the stage to leave them in privacy.

"I'm sorry!" Mune exclaimed breathlessly, holding herself up by her arms. Her hair was mussed from the fall, and fell over her face in strands. Evzen lay on his back wincing, and Mune blushed at the familiarity of it all. He opened his eyes and smiled, and propped himself up by his elbows. She echoed the smile, and they both chuckled at each other, her for her clumsiness, and him for his lack of coordination. Their laughter faded as a new feeling descended them, and Evzen reached up to caress the hair from her face gently. Mune's smile faded into curious anticipation as she watched him, and she shut her eyes as he drew her close to him in a kiss.

The kiss started as their others from so long ago had; curious and hesitant. Once Evzen was certain that she wasn't going to retaliate negatively without warning, he slid his hand down to her neck, and pulled her a little closer to deepen the kiss. Their tongues met for the first time as she accepted the more passionate kiss he was offering her, and Evzen lost the strength to hold himself upright. They both slid down to the floor, to continue kissing in a more comfortable position.

Mune lay upon her back on the floor of the ballroom, clinging tightly to Evzen as he half-laid upon her. Their kiss continued even then, fueling emotions that Mune had never felt before. She trembled with excitement, and offered everything of herself to him. He seemed to sense it, and one hand drifted from where it had been resting on her neck to her chest. She sighed into his mouth as he boldly stroked her breast until her nipple could be felt plainly through the fabric of her dress. She tried to pull him onto her more as he pinched the hardened flesh lightly, suddenly feeling that the only way she could be satisfied was if he were lying upon her fully.

Their kiss broke with a gasp from Mune, as Evzen trailed kisses across her chin to her jaw. He nipped the skin above her pulse as he found she reacted favorably to attention there, and shifted to lie on her a little more. He began trailing kisses and light nips down her neck to her chest, and then rose slightly as he watched his hand. His own body trembling in anticipation, he slid his hand inside of the plunging neckline of her dress, and pushed the thin fabric covering her breast aside so that he could see what it covered. He rose up to see her and her uncovered breast fully, drinking in the sight and memorizing it. Mune gazed up at him with a sleepy look, blushing as he smiled at her and caressed her cheek.

"Mune I…" he began, his voice hoarse. "I…don't know what to do next." The drowsy expression left Mune's face in an instant, and she sat up, her eyes large.

"What do you mean you don't know what to do next? What kind of man are you?" she snapped, re-covering her breast. Evzen watched it disappear behind the fabric of her dress mournfully before wincing at the glare she shot at him.

"I've never gotten this far with a girl before, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do next!" he exclaimed desperately as she stood. Mune glared down at him, trembling with anger and humiliation. He knew that he'd just hurt her feelings unintentionally, and he was uncertain on how to fix it. He was rescued from his plight as a troop of guards burst into the ballroom, Tacitus at the front.

"Evzen, there you are! You have to get to safety, now!" the Dwarven noble exclaimed, rushing towards Evzen as fast as he could. "And you, granddaughter of Ballard, you and your brother have to leave town as quickly as you can! It's not safe here anymore!"

"Why father, what's going on?" Evzen asked as Tacitus pushed them out of the ballroom. He shut and locked the doors as they left, giving the room one last fond look before urging them down the hallway.

"It's like a bad prophesy come true! Just as he promised, that clan of Esham's reformed. They're sieging the castle as we speak!" he exclaimed, urging them to run. "The guards are positioned to hold him off as best they can, but I'm afraid they won't be enough. We're sorely under-staffed for something as great as a siege." Tacitus pushed them both into the throne room, and murmured orders to the guard to lock the doors as soon as they were inside. Bilia stood worriedly near the tall staircase leading to the throne, hugging herself. Calisan was with her, and hurried to them as they approached.

"Sir Tacitus, I can help your men fight…" Calisan began. Tacitus shook his head before Calisan could give him a convincing reason, and motioned to Bilia.

"While I don't doubt your strength is great, this battle isn't for you to fight. Maphr knows you've been through enough here as it is." Tacitus stated, mopping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. "It's not cowardice; it's just that none of us were prepared for Esham's words holding truth. Once you two are safe, we Greyhelms will be sent to a safe house that no one knows of. I've already sent word to your Innadril Lord and clan leader, perhaps he can send assistance in time before the castle is taken." He patted Bilia's hand as she gave him a frightened look, and smiled at her. "It's all right dear, you're coming with us to the safe house, you're far too valuable an asset for us to leave behind, no matter whom your father may be."

"Thank you." Bilia sobbed, collapsing upon the Dwarf in a hug. Evzen turned to Mune as Tacitus consoled Bilia, and searched her face in worry.

"This isn't how I wanted to part with you." He stated desperately, taking her hands and holding them to his chest. Although embarrassed by the three sets of eyes upon her, Mune leaned forward and kissed him boldly.

"You'd better come to the village when you can, or I'll start hating Dark Elves again and find you for revenge." Mune warned, worry taking the edge from her threat. Evzen smiled sadly and hugged her close. He forcefully pushed her away, and stepped back to stand next to his father. Bilia stood from clinging to Tacitus, and wiped her eyes hastily.

"You're traveling many miles, so be prepared to be within the dimensional space for a long time." She said, holding her hands in front of her. Still angry at his help being rejected, Calisan glared at the old Dwarf as he put an arm across Mune's shoulders. Mune and Evzen watched each other as Bilia cast her spell, their eyes never leaving the others, even as they faded into the dimensional space.


	20. Chapter 19

_The Elven Village, one year later. _

It was summer, and Mune had been unable to sleep the night before. She rose early with Narlafayn and Cesa, and accompanied them as they left the village to pick vegetables from the garden everyone from the Village pitched in to help plant. She hadn't felt much like training with her sword since leaving Schuttgart, and had been learning the finer arts of being a girl from Cesa. She found she quite enjoyed gardening much to Cesa's delight, and often went with her to the garden to make sure she picked the best that there was.

Calisan had left soon after they arrived in the Elven Village. Pommers, the pink-haired boy dwarf formerly thought to be a girl named Plenty of Midget was already in the Village waiting for him. It surprised Mune to find Calisan's business partner was the younger brother of his rival, but he seemed to trust the boy with valuable information that he shared with no one else. After finding out Koyori had returned to her home in Dion with Shana, Calisan disappeared, and no one had heard from him since.

"Cesa, pick that one." Mune ordered, pointing to a vine of tomatoes in the garden. Cesa made a disgusted face at it, and looked at Mune as if she'd told her to stick her hand in a barrel of caterpillars.

"Why that one, the vine is disgusting." Cesa grimaced, hugging her woven basket to her chest. Mune glared at her, and snatched the basket from her arms.

"Because its gross means it'll yield the best tomatoes. See?" she snapped, marching over to the plant and holding it up. Sure enough, the largest tomatoes Cesa had seen yet dangled from the yellowed, shriveled vine. "This plant put it's all into making the best fruit, which is why it looks so gross. Now pick the tomatoes." Mune commanded, thrusting the basket back at Cesa. She took it eagerly and dropped to her knees to begin filling it.

"When did you turn into the plant whisperer?" Narlafayn asked, amused, as she searched for good stalks of broccoli. "Just don't go talking to trees on us, ok?" she snickered. She ducked her head down as Mune glared at her, and tried to hide her amusement.

The women were in the garden for a half-hour before Mune stood to give her tired back a rest. She paused with her arm wiping the sweat from her forehead as she caught sight of a figure approaching them in the distance. Because of the earliness of the day it was still hazy, the humidity hanging in the air in the form of a thin mist. Both Cesa and Narlafayn stood as they too caught sight of the approaching figure, and came to stand even with Mune.

Calisan emerged from the mist as he drew closer, a large grin on his face. Walking next to him, clutching his hand on one side and a ragged, stuffed Crokian toy on the other, was an Elven girl of seven or so, with hair the color of the richest rose wine. Narlafayn dropped her basket of vegetables as they drew closer, and pressed both of her hands to her mouth.

"Tandy!" she exclaimed breathlessly, and lifted her skirt as she jumped over the garden plants to hurry towards them.

"It's ok Tandy." Calisan said gently as the girl tried to hide behind him in fear. Narlafayn collapsed to her knees in front of her, and clutched her tightly. Tandy struggled against Narlafayn and whimpered, frightened of this stranger that was suddenly squeezing her. Her resistance faltered as Narlafayn began to cry in earnest, and craned her neck to look at Narlafayn's head curiously.

"Oh my goodness Calisan, how on earth did you find her?" Cesa asked as Calisan backed away to give Narlafayn some semblance of privacy.

"It wasn't easy, let me tell you. The Dwarves that Koyori left her with suffered an unfortunate accident while passing through Goddard Territory only a few days before they were slated to meet with me, so I never found out who adopted her until recently." He sighed and folded his arms behind his head in a relaxed pose, and smiled as Narlafayn continued to cling to the girl. "I finally found her a year ago in Schuttgart; her adoptive parents were the innkeepers there. They were using her as a servant, barely feeding her or keeping her clothed. I got into a fight with the innkeeper the day he tried to rent her out to pedophiliac guests." He nodded at Mune, and winked at her. "That's the real reason that I got thrown in jail, but had I told you that back then, I know you would've gone marching into the inn with hellfire surrounding you. I needed to catch them off guard to get Tandy, and catch them I did a month ago."

"Oh Calisan, you are a genius sometimes." Cesa giggled, wrapping her arms around her brothers' waist to hug him.

"Only sometimes? Cesa, you wound me." He stated with a frown. His face lit up as he glanced back at Narlafayn and Tandy, and he looked over to Mune. "I didn't just bring a gift for Narlafayn either." He stated with a grin. He nodded towards the path, and Mune followed his eyes.

Coming up the road was a new figure, this one causing Mune's eyes to widen as far as they would go. She rushed towards it without waiting, and Evzen was shocked to find Mune coming through the mist at _him_, instead of him coming out to surprise _her_. She flung herself at him, and he barely caught her before she fell to the ground. She planted a kiss on him without even murmuring a greeting, and it took him a moment to recover from his surprise to hug and kiss her in return.

"What took you so long? I was about to leave and come hurt you!" Mune snapped after breaking the kiss. Evzen grinned and chuckled in his throat as she kissed him again when he took a breath to answer her.

"To sum up a long story, political intrigue. Esham's clan's siege failed, so I've been building a clan." He said as she pulled away. Mune glared at him briefly before pressing him close in another kiss. He relaxed into it, and held her tightly as he returned it with equal enthusiasm.

"All right you two, there's plenty of time for that later; Tandy wants breakfast!" Narlafayn said, finally coming out of her stupefied happiness to be herself again. They parted and Mune looked over her shoulder to glare as Evzen chuckled. Tandy seemed to have taken an instant liking to Narlafayn, and clung tightly to her hand.

"Won't Roan be jealous?" Mune asked with a slight frown, knowing how her cousin reacted to anyone who lavished attention on his parents. He wasn't so much spoiled as he wanted the attention for himself; rather, he wanted to be the only one showering his parents with attention, not other people.

"He'll get over it." Narlafayn said without thought. She smiled down at Tandy and led her towards the bridge to the village.

"Well now isn't this a happy ending?" Cesa giggled as Evzen and Mune ignored Narlafayn's order and returned to kissing each other on the path. "Don't you think so?" she asked, gazing up at her brother. He gave her a half-smile, and laughed lightly through his nose.

"Yeah…a real happy one." He said in forced happiness. In his pocket, unseen by all was a simple gold ring. It had been engraved with the words "Koyori, for eternity." The ring, looking entirely too identical down to the engraving to a ring Calisan had presented Koyori several months earlier, had been found on a merchant's blanket in Gludio.

Perhaps some happy endings needed more time to happen.


End file.
